Joey Chestnut hungry to defend Bagelmania eating championship
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Related, Joey Chestnut is coming back to Vegas.
The man considered the Tom Brady of competitive eaters is defending his world bagel-eating championship at 11 a.m. Feb. 1 at third-annual Siegel’s Bagelmania World Bagel Eating Championship.
The deli’s parking lot is the bagel competition’s Las Vegas home, at least until Sphere snaps up the spectacle (insiders say such talk is “premature”).
Chestnut is the top-ranked competitive eater in the world. But the celebrated speed scarfer is not a solo star, in this third installment of the chow-down competition.
Six of the top-10 competitive eaters in the world will take the stage adjacent to the giant bagel at the restaurant’s entrance. Joining Chestnut are Patrick Bertoletti, Geoffrey Esper, James Webb, Nick Wehry and Gideon Oji. The 15th-ranked pro eater, George Chiger, also has a Bagelmania reservation.
About 500 onlookers (and, we understand, a few sports wagerers attended last year’s bagel championship. Chestnut, in his first appearance in the event, put down 15 bagels in eight minutes. That was half a bagel better than second-place finisher Esper, who was the event’s inaugural champ in ‘23. Wehry was third with 10.5 bagels consumed.
Chestnut promised to improve his performance in his return, learning that “cream cheese slows you down.”
Bagelmania Chief Business Officer (and frequent deli inhabitant) Michael Crandall says the company is happy to part with the $10K offered to the champion. The exec adds that the victor will also achieve “world glory” — not to mention a lotta free bagels.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.