Photo by Steven Ferdman/WireImage. Pictured: Joey Chestnut
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Championship has come down to Joey Chestnut against everyone else, which is exactly how sportsbooks are pricing it.
The only way to legally wager on the winner of the contest is by taking either Chestnut, the 13-time winner of the event, or taking the field.
At BetMGM and PointsBet, the odds are the same: Chestnut -5000 or the field at +1000.
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Chestnut has lost this contest just once since 2007, finishing second to Matt Stonie in 2015. His 2020 performance set a world record for the contest with 75 hot dogs and buns eaten.
The competitors have 10 minutes to finish as many hot dogs and buns as they can, as long as the hot dog is in the mouth at the time of the final buzzer. The competition will once again be held outside after a year indoors due to COVID-19. While it will be in Coney Island, it won’t be at the usual spot on the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenue; instead it’s being hosted at Maimonides Park, home of the Mets Single-A team with a reduced crowd of 7,000 people.
While taking Chestnut at such an expensive juice almost seems impossible, an easier price to digest will be on the total.
PointsBet and BetMGM are offering totals on the amount of hot dogs the defending champion will eat. PointsBet has it priced at 74.5 with the under -106. BetMGM has the lower total at 73.5 with the over -225 and under +170.
“I’m hoping I can find that perfect rhythm where I can keep pushing and I’m comfortable. Hopefully, 76, 77 sounds doable,” Chestnut told reporters.
The No. 1-ranked eater in the world will face competition, incluing world No. 2 Geoffrey Esper.
The defending women’s champion, Miki Sudo, will not participate this year due to her pregnancy.
The event takes place at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 4.