 Nathan's
Hot Dog Eating
Contest Odds (2008)
Oh yes, it's that
time of year again -
the 4th of July.
Fireworks, outdoor
barbeques, flag
waving patriots.....and
hotdog devouring
Japanese?
Over the years, the
4th of July
(Independence Day in
the United States)
has become
synonymous with the
world famous
Nathan's Hot Dog
Eating Contest.
Amazingly, online
gambling sites
perform quite well
taking bets on the
event.
Bookmaker.com
was offering a line
of a whopping 68 1/2
hot dogs to be eaten
at the 2008 Nathan's
Hot Dog Eating
Contest in Coney
Island, New York.
You can bet the
Over/Under here.
The under was -250
while the over
promised a potential
payout of $200 for
every $100 bet (or
$20 for every $10
bet).
Legend has it that
the hot dog contest
has been held
annually at Nathan's
Famous on the corner
of Surf and
Stillwell Avenues in
Coney Island since
1916, according to
Fox 5 New York.
The contest
traditionally lasts
12 minutes and
includes up to 20
big eaters.
This year's event is
reportedly going to
be cut down to 10
minutes. It
was unclear whether
Bookmaker.com had
factored these
reports into its
current line as last
year's winner, Joey
Chestnut, gulped
down 66 franks.
Prior to Chestnut's
record - Japan's
Takeru Kobayashi had
been the crowning
champ for five years
straight. Both
Kobayashi and
Chestnut must
participate in order
for Bookmaker.com's
wagers to be valid.
And what are the
prizes for the
fastest eater
besides a free lunch
and notoriety - not
to mention national
pride since this
contest has now
become a sort of USA
vs Japan type of
event?
1st Place: $10,000
2nd Place: $5,000
3rd Place: $2,500
 The
24-year old Chestnut
- who likely has a
long hot dog eating
contest career ahead
of him - will be
arriving in New York
from his home town
of San Jose,
California.
Chestnut trains by
fasting and by
stretching his
stomach with milk
and water.
Three days before
winning a
chicken-eating
contest in Boston,
in November 2005,
Chestnut drank
gallons of water in
under one minute and
ate buffalo wings to
get his stomach
accustomed to them.
As of July 4, 2006,
his competition
weight was 220
pounds (100 kg).
The San José State
University student
entered the
competitive eating
scene in 2005 with a
break-out
performance in the
deep-fried asparagus
eating championship,
in which he beat
high-ranked eater
Rich LeFevre by
eating 6.3 pounds of
asparagus in 11.5
minutes.
Tim "Gravy" Brown
will also be
participating.
He ranks 13th on the
International
Federation of
Competitive Eating
circuit.
Most competitive
eaters aren't obese,
according to the
Chicago Tribune.
Brown (200 pounds
and 5 feet 11 inches
tall) runs 5 miles a
day five times a
week: "It builds
endurance, and an
eating contest is
endurance. It might
be 10 minutes of
eating, but it's 10
minutes of hell."
And there are
techniques, The
Tribune points out.
Competitive eaters
override brain
signals that tell
them they're full
for example.
"You have to trick
it," says Brown, who
also packs an iPod
to drown out
announcer prattle
with books on tape
or punk rock. "You
don't want to know
if you're winning or
losing. You just
want to
concentrate." His
brain and gut
rewired, Brown
finds: "I never get
full. I don't get
hungry. But that
doesn't mean I don't
love to eat."
Then there is Takeru
Kobayashi, who
helped coin the term
"Japanesing".
The 110-pounder in
2001 separating dog
and bun, then
gulping franks in
twos to shatter the
previous Nathan's
Hot Dog Eating
Contest record.
For the online
gambling sector, it
remains to be seen
what type of money
will come in from
this voracious
event.
"Gamblers are hungry
for something to bet
on this time of
year,"
Gambling911.com's
Payton O'Brien
stated. "There
is baseball and then
there is....well,
the 2008 Nathan's
Hot Dog Eating
Contest."
And the contest
usually brings in
more money the 4th
of July than does
baseball.
-----
Christopher
Costigan,
Gambling911.com
Publisher
CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com
Originally published
July 2, 2008 10:58
am EST
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