Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest odds wide open with star missing

Two things were Fourth of July locks the past eight years: Fireworks going off and Joey Chestnut winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest.

That won’t be the case Thursday.

Chestnut — who has won the 16 of the last 17 Independence Day contests in Coney Island, New York — was banned from the event because he signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, which sells plant-based hot dogs.

The odds to win the wiener competition are wide open with Chestnut out. Nevada sportsbooks don’t take wagers on the event. But DraftKings, which doesn’t operate in Nevada, has posted odds on the winners of the men’s and women’s contests.

Geoffrey Esper is the -115 favorite and James Webb is the +175 second choice to win the $10,000 first prize and Mustard Belt.

Former Henderson resident Miki Sudo is the heavy -900 favorite to win the women’s contest for the third consecutive year and the 10th time in 11 years. Ranked the No. 3 competitive eater in the world by Major League Eating, Sudo missed the 2021 contest due to pregnancy.

Esper, from Oxford, Massachusetts, has finished second to Chestnut the past three years. Chestnut ate 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes last year, while Esper ate 49. Esper, ranked No. 2 in the world behind Chestnut by MLE, expects the contest to be a dog fight.

“I definitely have a shot this year,” Esper told the Worcester Telegram. “It’s going to be a tight battle for first.”

The over-under total for hot dogs and buns eaten by Esper is 49½ (over -130).

Esper is a two-time Hooters wing-eating champion, downing a record 281 wings in 10 minutes. He set his fourth straight strawberry shortcake eating record in June by devouring 23.75 pounds in eight minutes.

Webb, the world’s fifth-ranked eater from Sydney, Australia, took third in last year’s event after eating 47 hot dogs and buns. His over-under total is 48½ (under -125). Webb set a record in June for glazed donuts, eating 70 of them in eight minutes.

Nick Wehry, ranked fourth in the world, is the +750 third choice after finishing fourth last year with 45 hot dogs eaten. The Tampa, Florida, resident ate a record 50 hard-boiled eggs in 3:04 at a 2021 DraftKings event. He dropped to one knee and proposed to Sudo immediately afterward. They’re now married.

Patrick Bertoletti is the 10-1 fourth choice, followed by the field at 25-1, Gideon Oji at 40-1 and four other contestants at 75-1.

Bertoletti, from Chicago, holds the most world eating records, including one for pickled jalapeno peppers. He ate 275 of them in eight minutes.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.