Bagel-Eating Champ Joey Chestnut Facing Another Las Vegas Hole-y War

Posted on: January 8, 2026, 03:30h. 

Last updated on: January 8, 2026, 03:31h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.

Competitive eating — that uniquely American sport that pretty much rewards obesity — returns to its natural habitat on January 31, when Joey Chestnut defends his title at the fourth annual Siegel’s Bagelmania World Bagel Eating Championship in Las Vegas. (Yes, competitive eating has a title.)

It’s dough or die time for Joey Chestnut once again in Las Vegas. (Image: Siegel’s Bagelmania)

Chestnut’s number to beat is 15 bagels with cream cheese in eight minutes — the total he’s hit two years running and a figure that suggests he has discovered the upper limit of human bagel throughput.

Patrick Bertoletti (14.5) and Geoffrey Esper (13.125) came uncomfortably close to dethroning him last year, and both return for another round of esophageal brinkmanship. They’ll be joined by James Webb, Nick Wehry, Gideon Oji, and Las Vegas local Derek Hendrickson — meaning that six of Major League Eating’s top ten competitors will compete for $10,000 and a belt that looks like it came from Walmart’s toy department.

Carb Your Enthusiasm

Major League Eating emcee Sam Barclay is already hyping the event as the Super Bowl of schmear, promising a “jaw‑dropping showdown.” (Technically, that’s accurate if only because of how much human jaws must unhinge to wolf down approximately 4 lbs. of crusty dough.)

This year’s twist: the spectacle will be livestreamed globally on TrillerTV, a platform normally devoted to combat sports. TrillerTV content chief Adam Bigwood is billing it as a “larger‑than‑life crossover,” pairing Chestnut with GCW pro‑wrestling personality Sam Stackhouse for added theatricality.

The broadcast marks the first time the championship will beam its carbohydrate carnage to a worldwide audience. It’s free to attend, free to stream, and guaranteed to make more than a few viewers question how long the world has until end times.

To watch in person, bring your curiosity, your skepticism, and a plastic knife to Siegel’s Bagelmania, 252 Convention Center Drive in Las Vegas, starting at 11 a.m. January 31.