2011 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Odds
Written by Jack Jones - Google +
The annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place on July 4th every year. It’s right around the corner, and 2011 marks the ninety-sixth running of the event which dates all the way back to 1916. According to legend, it was started when four immigrants had a hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Famous stand on Coney Island. They were said to be settling an argument about who was most patriotic.
It has taken place at Nathan’s Famous Corporation’s original restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. It is regarded as the most famous hot dog eating contest in the world. Just last year, over 40,000 were in attendance to witness it along with 1.677 million viewers who tuned in to watch live on ESPN. They have broadcasted this event on national TV dating back to 2004.
Joey Chestnut won it for a fourth consecutive year in 2010, downing 54 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
Up until 2007, it was a 12 minute race, but they’ve dropped it to 10 minutes every year since. Chestnut took down 66 in ‘07, 59 in ‘08 and 68 in ‘09. Kazutoyo Arai won the event in 2000 before the famous Takeru Kobayashi put together a string of six consecutive victories from 2001 to 2006. Kobayashi placed second to Chestnut the next three years, including perhaps the most memorable finish of all-time in 2008.
Tied at 59-59 after 10 minutes, Chestnut and Kobayashi went to overtime and it was the first to finish five to be crowned the winner. Chestnut swallowed the fifth with Kobayashi falling only one bite short. Kobayashi did not partake in the 2010 event because he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating. After the contest, he was involved with a scuffle with police and eventually taken away in handcuffs.
The winners receive the famous Nathan’s Mustard Belt along with a trophy and two cases of Nathan’s Famous hot dogs. In 2007, they started awarding cash prices to the top eight finishers with a grand purse of $20,650. The winner takes down $10,000 while eighth walks away with $50. Like almost any other sporting event, you can wager on this contest. Here is a look at the prop bets that you can place for the 2011 edition.
2011 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Odds to Win
Joey Chestnut (-400)
Field (+250)
Analysis – With Kobayashi not in this year’s field, Chestnut should have no problem beating the competition. Nobody other than Kobayashi has even given him a run for his money during his four-year run as hot dog eating champ.
2011 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Who will eat more hot dogs?
Joey Chestnut (-9½, -105)
Field (+9½, -135)
Analysis – This is where it gets tough because for a winning wager on Chestnut, he would need to eat 10 or more hot dogs than the second-place finisher. He seemed less motivated last year without Kobayashi in the field, and won’t be as motivated this year, either. He ate 66 hot dogs and buns in 2007, 59 in 2008, 68 in 2009 and 54 in 2010. So as you can see, his lowest total came last year and second place went to Tim “Eater X” Janus who had 45, falling nine short. Janus is back in the field this year and will be hungry to beat Chestnut, and my best guess is that he’ll stay within nine dogs of Chestnut if nobody else does.
2011 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Total Hot Dogs eaten by Joey Chestnut
Over/Under 60.5
Analysis – Like I said before, I believe Chestnut is less motivated and doesn’t think he really has to extend himself to win. He settled for 54 hot dogs and buns last year without Kobayashi in the field. I think he will settle for 60 or less again, which should be enough to beat the rest of the competition. Take the ‘under’ option here.
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