Upcoming New York City eating contests
New York City eating challenges
(All New York City eating challenges and contests in database)
Jeffrey Epstein and the mysteries of Nathan’s Famous 2018
Warning: This is a long, dark and disquieting post. Do not click “read the rest” unless you think you are in an optimal mindset.
Read the rest of this entry »
All Nathan’s Famous Coney Island winners
Here is a list of all winners of a hot dog eating contest held at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island in the database. Before 1980, competitions were held on various days throughout the summer. The first contest to receive news coverage was held on June 30, 1967 to commemorate the centennial of the hot dog. Walter Paul reportedly won that event with a reported total of 127 hot dogs in an hour.
Read the rest of this entry »
2026 Nathan’s Famous field announced
The field for the 2026 Nathan’s Famous finals has been announced. There are no international byes other than competitors who have competed in a MLE contest in 2026. Crazy Legs Conti received a wild card spot despite a 6th place finish in his qualifier. His qualifier total of 10 hot dogs might be an all time low for a male finalist. Katie Prettyman received a spot despite not competing in a contest since Nathan’s 2025.
Read the rest of this entry »
Six Point Brewery in Brooklyn will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding two tickets to the July 5 Yankees game.
The weather for Coney Island on July 4 is predicted to be High 86 / Low 71 with a chance of thunderstorms.
Nathan’s 2026 men’s odds
Caesars Sportsbook has posted odds for 12 competitors in the upcoming men’s Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest. I am not sure if this is the official and final field. If it is final, there will be no Asian competitors for the second year in a row.
Champion byes:
Joey Chestnut -2500 (bet $2500 to win $100)
Pat Bertoletti +1100 (bet $100 to win $1100)
Qualifier winners:
Max Stanford +15000
George Chiger +15000
Top 12 byes:
James Webb +2800
Geoffrey Esper +2800
Nick Wehry +5000
Ricardo Corrbucci +15000
Derek Hendrickson +20000
Darrien Thomas +20000
Radim Dvoracek +20000
Gideon Oji +20000
For the women’s field, all I can find out is that Cherish Brown will receive a wild card spot, making the known field:
Miki Sudo
Michelle Lesco
Semora Kludy
Larell Marie Mele
Cherish Brown
update Draft Kings also has odds for Adrian Morgan +15000, Cameron Meade +20000 and Jerome Burns +20000
Jimmy's Famous Heroes Sandwich Shop will hold a sandwich eating contest at the Sheepshead Bay Fest in Brooklyn on June 21 awarding $500 to the winner.
Trump, Howard Lorber & the NY Knicks
One June 5, the official White House X account posted a picture of President Trump watching a New York Knicks game from courtside seats. His seatmate is believed to be Howard Lorber, his longtime friend and CEO of Nathan’s Famous. The picture was taken at a 2007 game against the Los Angeles Lakes and comes from a NY Magazine article which claims that Lorber was Trump’s most common companion at Knicks games. The game Trump attended on June 8 was the only game lost by the Knicks in a 4-1 NBA Championship Series win.
Roma Pizza in Brooklyn will hold a rotisserie chicken eating contest on June 21 awarding $500 to the winner.
Flashback: Nathan’s City Hall weigh-ins
Tonight’s weigh in at the Lincoln Memorial for Sunday’s UFC card at the White House is not the first time a weigh-in for a competition has been held at a major public building. Weigh ins for Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest were held at NYC City Hall until 2014 and the Brooklyn Borough Hall from 2015-17. The mayor often attended the weigh-in; Michael Bloomberg attended the weigh-in 11 of the 12 years he was in office and Rudy Guiliani was present at least three years. The hot dog documentary “Footlong” has footage (starts at 6:23) of the 1998 weigh-in attended by Rudy Guiliani and Curtis Sliwa, who ran for mayor in 2021 and 2025.
WABC has uploaded a mini-podcast in which Curtis Sliwa, Republican candidate in last week's New York City Mayoral election, discusses his competitive eating experience. He says that his third place finish in the 1996 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest was assisted by stuffing three hot dogs in his pocket. He also discusses former NFL lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry's disappointing four hot dog result in the 2003 Nathan's contest, which he claims was caused by injuries resulting from a fight with competitor Chris Eyre after Perry had an affair with Eyre's wife.
Curtis Sliwa at 1998 Nathan’s hot dog eating contest
The New York City mayoral election is on Tuesday. The Republican candidate in that race, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, competed in several Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contests in the 1990s. At the July 3, 1998 weigh-in/press conference, Sliwa discussed his theory that defending champion Hirofumi Nakajima had been surgically modified to enhance his eating ability.
The source of the clip is “Footlong”, a documentary about a cross-country tour of hot dog restaurants. The Nathan’s weigh-in segment starts around 6:22
update Nov 1 The Daily Mirror has an article about competing against Sliwa in the 1997 Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest.
Wayne Algenio ate 76 pierogies in 5 minutes to win the first prize of $500 in yesterday's eating contest at Pierozek in Brooklyn.
The Latin Food Festival will hold an empanada eating contest in Brooklyn on September 13 awarding $500 to the winner.
The Japan Village Summer Festival will hold a wanko soba eating contest in Brooklyn on August 23 awarding a trip to Japan.
THe New York Post has an article about a rotisserie chicken eating contest held at Roma Pizza in Brooklyn. Robert McGee ate a whole chicken in 6:44 to win the first prize of $500.
Roma Pizzeria in Brooklyn will hold a rotisserie chicken eating contest on July 20 awarding $500 to the winner.
2025 Nathan’s men’s final
ESPN coverage of introductions and contest
| 1st | 70.5 | Joey “Jaws” Chestnut | |
| 2nd | 46.5 | Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti | |
| 3rd | 45.5 | James Webb | |
| 4th | 43.875 | Geoffrey Esper | |
| 5th | 41.75 | Nick Wehry | |
| 6th | 40 | Ricardo Corbucci | |
| 7th | 36.5 | Max Stanford | |
| 8th | 31.17 | Gideon Oji | |
| 9th | 30.5 | Radim Dvoracek | |
| 10th | 30 | Derek Hendrickson | |
| 11th | 29.5 | Darrien “Cheesecurd” Thomas | |
| 12th | 25 | George Chiger | |
| 13th | 23.5 | Jerome Burns | |
| 14th | 23 | Adrian “The Rabbit” Morgan | |
| 15th | 20.75 | Cameron Meade |
2025 Nathan’s Famous women’s finals
ESPN has the contest coverage on youtube
USA Today has an article about the disqualification of Madison Barone
| 1st | 33 | Miki Sudo | 11th women’s victory |
| 2nd | 22.75 | Michelle “Cardboard Shell” Lesco | |
| 3rd | 21.5 | Domenica “Dee Street Eats” Dee | |
| 4th | 16 | Tandra Childress | |
| 5th | 13.125 | Katie Prettyman | |
| 6th | 13 | Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele | |
| 7th | 10 | Kelly Lewis | |
| 8th | 9 | Jocelyn Young | |
| 9th | 7.25 | Laura Beitel | |
| 9th | 7.25 | Isabeau Pearl Prettyman | |
| 11th | 6.5 | Camille O’Brien | |
| 12th | 6 | Cherish “Five Pounds” Brown |
Live Walking NYC has started a live video from Coney Island
Dutchmazz also plans to do a live video
ABC7 is doing a live video of today's "weigh-in" for Nathan's Famous competitors. update ABC's video has stopped, but the NY Posts's is going.
Today mark's the fifth anniversary of former governor Andrew Cuomo's requirement that travelers from 16 states must self quarantine for 14 days after arriving in New York. The edict prevented Matt Stonie (CA), MIchelle Lesco (AZ) and Gideon Oji (GA) from competing in the 2020 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest.
The New York Post has an interview with Joey Chestnut about his return to Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. He also discusses his fiancee Brie, but says he has yet to set a wedding date. He says a guy from Montreal (most likely Australian James Webb) is his only threat.
The New York Times reports that Mortimer Matz, co-founder of the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest, has passed away at the age of 100.
Joey Chestnut ate 40 chicken tenders in 5 minutes to defeat two teams of four celebrities at Fanatics Fest in New York City today.
Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding tickets to the July 6 Yankees vs. Mets game.
Loading ...