Sports betting controversies have made headlines in professional sports over the last few years and a wagering scandal has now affected the annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Nathan’s holds the event annually on July 4 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. This year, controversy arose over the total number of hot dogs Miki Sudo and her husband and fellow competitive eater, Nick Wehry, ate.
Sudo is a 12-time champion of the women’s event and came out on top again last week. However, the total number of hot dogs consumed by Sudo and Wehry increased after the event. The adjusted number was larger than originally announced at the event.
The original number was under the total amount. But the adjusted amount flipped the total from under the betting line to over it. Thus, winning bettors became losers and vice versa.
Dog & Bun Brouhaha
DraftKings and BetMGM both offered betting on the event. Bookmakers set Sudo’s over/under on dogs and buns consumed at 38.5. The unofficial results had the coney crusher coming up short of that at 34. But official results from Major League Eating (MLE) later changed that to 38.75
“The counter had missed a plate,” MLE co-founder and event host George Shea told USA Today. “Head official judge Sam Barclay caught that.”
Despite the clarification, the newspaper reported that Sudo’s total appeared to be 34 after reviewing footage of the contest. Miscounting during the contest isn’t unprecedented however. Bets on competitive eating legend Joey Chestnut were affected in 2018 when his total was adjusted.
Former hot dog-eating competitor Darron Breeden told USA Today that inexperienced counters are likely the problem. He finished runner-up in the event twice while competing from 2017 to 2021.
“I agree that standards need to be raised for the eaters, the fans and especially for anyone that has money tied to it,’’ he said. “You want to preserve the integrity of the contest.”
Double Plating?
A similar change in hot dogs was seen for Wehry. His initial total was announced as 40, but that was later adjusted to 45. The new total also hit the over, with the total at most books set at 44.5.
Geoff Esper competed next to Wehry and finished with 40.5 hot dogs. He said he kept pace with Wehry the entire event and believed both adjustments are a result of “double plating.” Five hot dogs are on each plate and in this scenario, two plates get stuck together and could cause an additional five hot dogs to be counted which weren’t actually eaten.
Sudo scored $10,000 for the victory and seemed unfazed by the controversy surrounding her possible mastication miscalculation.
“My job is simply to eat the hot dogs, and I stand by the judges’ count of 38.75 (0.25 deduction for a dropped bun),’’ she noted. Sudo added: “Furthermore, I have no involvement in wagering in any capacity; that would not only be against the rules, but also unethical.”
Wehry said he is unsure about his hot dog count as he is eating, noting: “After 5-10 (hot dogs) I have no idea where I am.” He added that it was possible counters made an error.
Hot Dog Eating Champ Loves Poker
Joey Chestnut won the men’s contest for the third straight year. The hot dog champ is a titan in the world of competitive eating and competes in all sorts of eating competitions.
While he was in Las Vegas last February for the World Bagel Eating competition, Chestnut spoke with Card Player about his love of poker and his eating contests. Chestnut even grabbed a seat in the Celebrity Poker Tour event at the PokerGO studio at Aria.
“I think most of the people there had played multiple tournaments,” he said. “It was my first real tournament, and I definitely had nerves. But looking back, I made some poor decisions. I also made some good ones, but I think nerves got the best of me. If they give me the invite, I’ll be back. I think my nerves will be calmed down by then.”
The Indiana native once again came out on top in the hot dog contest this year, scarfing down 66 frankfurters and buns in 10 minutes. This marked his 18th victory since 2007.
