Location: Sparks, NV
In another "will he, won't he" scenario, the world's best eater decided that he couldn't sit back and allow another MLE'er to take his Nugget Rib Title. For the second year in a row and fifth in six years, Joey Chestnut took home the first-place prize of $2,500 and was crowned World Rib Eating Champion at the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off.
Consuming 7.6 lbs of ribs in 12 minutes outside John Ascuaga's in Sparks, NV, Chestnut was a full pound ahead of fellow rival and '09 champ Pat Bertoletti (6.6 lbs). In third place just a few ounces behind Bertoletti with 6.35 lbs was MLE upstart Matt "megatoad" Stonie who hails from Chestnut's hometown of San Jose.
Rounding out the money winners were Erik "the Red" Denmark (5.25 lbs) and to a surprise of some Las Vegas' Ron Koch (3.85 lbs). Damon wells was just a few ribs behind Koch and finished on the bubble in sixth place with 3.6 lbs.
FULL RESULTS 1-Joey Chestnut - 7.6 lbs ribs in 12 minutes ($2,500) 2-Pat Bertoletti - 6.6 lbs ($1,000) 3-Matt Stonie - 6.35 lbs ($750) 4-Erik Denmark - 5.25 lbs ($500) 5-Ron Koch - 3.85 lbs ($250) 6-Damon Wells - 3.6 lbs 7-Larry Koepke - 2.2 lbs T8-Jason Erb - 2.05 lbs T8-Allen Triplett - 2.05 lbs 10-Ken Douglas - 1.85 lbs 11-James Carroll - 1.4 lbs
The JA Nugget World Rib Eating Championship took place at 6:00pm PST on Wednesday, August 31st from the Main Stage at the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off. The Rib Cook-off ran through an extended Labor Day weekend, Wednesday, August 31st through Monday, September 5, 2011.
For more information on John Ascuaga's Nugget, visit www.janugget.com.
For more information on the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, visit www.NuggetRibCookOff.com.
Become a fan of the MLE Facebook Page
For instant results to all Major League Eating Contests, follow @eatingcontest.