Chestnut Regains JA Nugget Rib Title

World No.1 Joey Chestnut Regains Rib Eating Title at the 22nd Annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off

Joey Chestnut, the world’s No.1-ranked competitive eater, thrilled a capacity crowd by reclaiming the World Rib Eating title today at the 5th annual Nugget World Rib Eating Championships during the 22nd annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off.

Chestnut, the event’s three-time champion, consumed an impressive 8 pounds of pork rib meat, avenging last year’s loss to second-place finisher Pat Bertoletti, who this year downed a worthy 6.9 pounds. The competitors all commented on the ease with which the meat came off the bone this year, complementing the event’s staff and chefs for preparing world-record-ready food.

“This is by far is the best the competition has been here at the Nugget,” Chestnut said. “I knew when I saw the ribs that we were going to eat a lot of meat today. We’re all just very excited about how big this event has become and how well we’re treated when we come here. This is a first-class eating competition, without a doubt.”

“This is great for our event and we look forward to renewing the Chestnut-Bertoletti rivalry next year,” said Nugget spokesman Mike Traum. “Once again we were thrilled that nearly 5,000 people watched the contest. We hope they enjoy the rest of the week here at the Rib Cook-off.”

The 22nd annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off is sponsored by US Bank, Morrey Distributing/Budweiser, City of Sparks, Curly’s Foods Inc., Kenwood Vineyards, Legends at Sparks Marina, Model Dairy, Northern Nevada Toyota Dealers, AT&T Nevada, Kansas City Barbecue Society, Northern Nevada Medical Center, Clark Pest Control, Swire Coca-Cola, IGT, KOZZ 105.7 FM, KBUL 98 FM, KTHX 100.1 FM, and KZTQ/Bob 97.3 FM.