Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Dogged by Betting Controversy

Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest may not generate the betting volume of the World Cup or the Super Bowl, but the July 4 event is the pinnacle of competitive eating. And because most major US sportsbooks now offer odds on the contest, a quarter of a frankfurter can prove to be the difference between winning and heartache – not to mention heartburn.

“Confusion over the number of dogs swallowed” is not a sentence we thought we ever write, but that’s exactly what happened at this year’s contest, where post-event score revisions turned what looked like winning bets into losers, leaving some gamblers feeling sick to their stomachs.

The biggest controversy surrounded women’s champion Miki Sudo, who captured her 12th Nathan’s title. Immediately after the contest, Sudo was credited with eating 34 hot dogs and buns in the allotted ten-minute timeframe. But after judges completed their official count, her total jumped to 38.75.

Sick as a Dog

That proved to be a disaster for anyone who had backed the under on sportsbooks such as DraftKings and BetMGM, where Sudo’s over/under had been set at 38.5 hot dogs. An apparently comfortable winner turned out to be a losing ticket by half a frank.

Sudo’s husband, fellow competitor Nick Wehry, also saw his score rise dramatically, from an unofficial 40 hot dogs to an official 45. The adjustment not only affected betting markets but also lifted him from sixth place into fourth, earning him an extra slice of the prize money.

Major League Eating (MLE) co-founder George Shea blamed a simple counting mistake.

“The counter had missed a plate,” Shea told USA TODAY Sports, explaining that head judge Sam Barclay caught the error during the official review. Each serving plate contains five hot dogs, making it relatively easy for a single missed plate to create a substantial scoring swing.

Not everyone is convinced.

‘Double Plate’ Theory

USA TODAY reported that its own review of ESPN’s broadcast appeared to show Sudo eating only 34 hot dogs, although the camera angles did not clearly show every serving plate, making independent verification impossible.

No one is suggesting the world of competitive eating is riven by corruption. Veteran eater Geoff Esper suggested the issue may have resulted from so-called “double plating,” where two paper plates stick together during the frantic pace of the contest. If an extra emptyplate is mistakenly counted, it can inflate a competitor’s score by five hot dogs.

“It happens,” Esper told USA TODAY. “It’s a huge probabilistic anomaly for sure the way it played out though and makes you wonder why those two got double plated.”

Frank Opinion

A similar controversy occurred in 2018, when legendary eater Joey Chestnut’s total was revised upward by 10 hot dogs after the contest, reversing over/under bets that initially appeared to be winners.

Former competitor Darron Breeden says the contest has experienced growing pains as it becomes a legitimate betting event that still relies largely on human counters rather than more sophisticated technology.

“I agree that standards need to be raised for the eaters, the fans and especially for anyone that has money tied to it,” Breeden said.