The weather for Coney Island on July 4 is predicted to be High 86 / Low 71 with a chance of thunderstorms.
On June 18, Karen Meyer became the first person to finish the Adam Emmenecker challenge at Jethro's BBQ n Lakehouse in Ankeny, Iowa. She has started a facebook page at Karen's Bite Club to document her eating challenges.
The New York Post has obtained police body camera video of Joey Chestnut being questioned about his slapping incident on March 21 at a Westfield, IN bar. He claimed to have no memory of the assault due to drunkenness. update A video of the questioning is on youtube
At a Big Texan Route 66 tour stop in Granite City, IL, Kyle "The Hammer" Hanner completed the 72 ounce steak challengein 41 minutes. The tour will conclude in Chicago tomorrow.
The Plaza in Las Vegas will hold a wing eating contest on July 4 awarding $1,000 to the winner.
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
Parlay in Richmond, VA will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding $500 to the winner.
Paul Nicholson has posted a list of the 86 food YouTube channels with the most views in 2026. The only competitive eating / restaurant challenge accounts are Beard Meats Food (#3 317M views) and Matt Stonie (#32 25M views). First We Feast, producers of the "Hot Ones" spicy wing series, is the overall #1 channel with 566M views.
Two Felons Skate Shop will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 in Whittier, CA awarding $500 to the winner.
Fish Tales in Ocean City, MD will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding $1000 to the winner.
Geoff Esper defends strawberry shortcake title
Full results of today’s Strawberry Shortcake Eating Championship in Mattituck, NY. (8 minutes, results are in pounds)
| 1st | 21.5 | Geoffrey Esper | |
| 2nd | 18 | Max Stanford | |
| 2nd | 18 | Nick Wehry | |
| 4th | 15.5 | George Chiger | |
| 5th | 15 | Radim Dvoracek | |
| 6th | 14 | Jerome Burns | |
| 7th | 9 | Josh “The Goat” Krady | |
| 8th | 8 | Joseph Norris | |
| 9th | 5.1 | Crazy Legs Conti | |
| 10th | 3 | Prudence DiBenedetto | |
| 11th | 2.5 | Julie Goldberg |
Geoff Esper, Nick Wehry, Max Stanford, Radim Dvoracek, George Chiger, Jerome Burns, Crazy Legs Conti, Julie Goldberg, Josh Krady, Joseph Norris, Prudence DiBenedetto and Luke Sobieraj are expected to compete in tomorros's World Strawberry Shortcake Eating Championship in Mattituck, NY.
George Chiger & Larell Marie Mele win Hershey Park qualifier
update July 13 Franky WooWoo has a video
update June 22 PennLive, WHTM and WGAL have videos. Penn Live has an article and gallery.
| 1st | 25.5 | George Chiger |
| 2nd | 25 | Yunho Choi |
| 3rd | 22 | Tanner Gray |
| 4th | 17 | Jacob Williams |
| 5th | 13.5 | Mitchell Ashe |
| 6th | 12 | William “Wild Bill” Myers |
| 7th | 10.25 | Paul Chen |
| 1st | 12.25 | Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele |
| 2nd | 7.5 | Cherish “Five Pounds” Brown |
| 3rd | 5 | Prudence DiBenedetto |
| 3rd | 5 | Elizabeth “Glizzy Lizzie” Salgado |
| 5th | 3.75 | Rori Hausman |
George Chiger and Larell Marie Mele won today’s Nathan’s Famous qualifier at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA.
Joey Chestnut, Geoff Esper and influencer Harmon Caponigro are expected to compete in the Saugus Wing Eating Championship at The Brook in Seabrook, NH on July 11.
Registration is open for a Nathan's Famous qualifier to be held at the New York, New York Hotel Casino in Las Vegas on July 4 that will award a spot in the next year's finals on July 4, 2027. The site was a mainstay on the qualifier circuit, but has not held an event since 2019.
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.
Dogs Out in Manasquan, NJ will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 with a purse of at least $3500.
ZBurgerEatingContest.com has not been updated with any information about a 2026 competition, so that event will almost certainly not be held this upcoming July 4 weekend. The location in the Tenleytown area of Washington, DC that traditionally held the contest closed recently.
Matt Stonie posted a Nathan's Famous hot dog practice session on his Instagram, so he might be returning to that contest for the first time since 2019.
Ben Huddleston reports that the men's Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest will be televised live on ABC starting at 12:30 pm Eastern as part of the network's "Disney Celebrates America" programming. With a 24 hour run-time, there is no excuse for not televising the women's contest earlier in the day.
State Fare in Catonsville, MD will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 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.
Max Stanford, Semora Kludy win Lake Compounce qualifier
update June 29 Jerome Burns and Lake Compounce have videos
Fox61 has an article about the qualifier
Results from today’s Nathan’s qualifier at Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT via MLE instagram
| 1st | 32 | Max Stanford | |
| 2nd | 24 | Jerome Burns | |
| 3rd | 15.5 | Josh “The Goat” Krady | |
| 4th | 14.5 | Joshua Norris | |
| 5th | 13 | Brandon “The Titanium Jaw” Macey | |
| 6th | 10 | Crazy Legs Conti |
| 1st | 15 | Semora Kludy | |
| 2nd | 8.5 | Lainey Eaton | |
| 3rd | 7 | Lauren Fraunfelter | |
| 4th | 5.5 | Madison Barone | |
| 5th | 4.5 | Lily Krigelski | |
| 6th | 3.25 | Julie Goldberg |
Roma Pizza in Brooklyn will hold a rotisserie chicken eating contest on June 21 awarding $500 to the winner.
Joey Chestnut was interviewed by the Stacking Pennies podcast when he was in Charlotte for the NASCAR races Memorial Day weekend. They do not ask him about his recent arrest for battery and probation.
Loading ...