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RE: Tao of Benjorati 3/4

Competitive Eating Is Probably Not the Next Poker

by , Nov 5, 2008 | 3:46 pm

Comments (1)

… even though the dudes from PokerListings think so when they drink. If competitive eating were to become the next poker, though, it would probably be fun to see the field whittled down to a “final table”.

For those interested in seeing a real competitive eater at work, I interviewed Rich LeFevre, aka “The Locust”, as he successfully gulped down The Ultimate Steak at Brand (nice, fancy-ish steakhouse at the Monte Carlo) — a 120oz porterhouse (with sides) that usually feeds six, but is free if it feeds one and you clean your plate.

It took LeFevre 40 minutes, and that was with me peppering him with questions all the while:

As far as life on the competitive eating circuit goes, LeFevre looks back to the golden days of 2005, when he competed in 26 events and won $35,000. Clearly this dude could make way more money via prop bets as a competitive-eating hustler … but considering that he asked for ice cream after he finished devouring 8 pounds of steak, a pound of potatoes, and an similar volume of creamed spinach, you can tell he does it just for the love of the “sport”.



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One Comment to “RE: Tao of Benjorati 3/4”


  1. DanM     says:
    November 7th, 2008 at 4:31am

    While reading the comments on a competitive eating blog that did a post about this post, The Locust says:

    This challenge (with no time limit) was a welcome break from the short contests of 8-10 minutes. I wish there were still a few longer contests on the circuit to reward more than just pure speed over everything else. When I’m at a buffet, I notice certain people around me taking at least a half hour more than they normally would to finish their meals and when I get up to leave they follow suit. Several curious people come up to me with positive comments so there must be some entertainment value to watching someone casually eating plate after plate of food.

    Hmm, maybe competitive eating is the next poker. (Or perhaps poker is at best competitive eating?) It is the one “sport” other than poker where the amateurs can compete against the pros. And with LeFevre’s favoring longer contests and more food varieties, he may well be the Chip Reese of competitive eating.