Eaters to take on Big Daddy Burger

You've seen them on television -- the rotund and not so rotund, cramming their faces as fast as they can with hot dogs, doughnuts, you name it.

Now the big names in competitive eating are heading to Las Vegas to see how well they can handle a big burger.

The eaters will open their mouths at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Plaza to take on the Big Daddy Burger -- a monster that makes a Big Mac or a Whopper look like an appetizer.

The Big Daddy is 9 pounds of meat (prior to cooking) plus assorted fixin's, including 12 slices of American cheese, half a head of lettuce and four whole pickles -- no, not the little sweet gherkins -- and a bun 1 foot in diameter, said hotel spokesman Ron Aller.

Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, top-ranked eater in the country, will try to break her own record set last year, when she gobbled the monstrosity in 48 minutes and 10 seconds.

She will face challenges from competitors like Joey "Jaws" Chestnut and local favorite Rich "The Locust" LeFevre, a retired CPA who lives in Henderson.

All three will chow down during competitions arranged by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, or IFOCE, based in New York City.

Thomas, who has been labeled by the federation as a combination of photogenic tennis star Anna Kournikova and a ravenous jackal, holds numerous world records.

LeFevre hasn't done too badly for himself and is rated sixth by the IFOCE. On one occasion he downed 10 pounds of chili in 10 minutes.

"This is our Mount Everest," IFOCE President Richard Shea said of the Big Daddy Burger. "Perhaps the most challenging food in the history of competitive eating."

For the pros, $12,000 in prize money will be on the table with another $1,300 for an associated amateur contest that will take place at noon.

The event will be held at the Plaza Showroom, adjacent to the casino floor. Late registration will take place during the morning before the amateur contest, but the hotel warned that there may be no room left.

The IFOCE, while it may not be promoting eating as an Olympic sport, conducts roughly 100 gustatory events annually, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y., and the appropriately sponsored Alka-Seltzer U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, held last year in Las Vegas.

LeFevre won a close second place in last year's Alka-Seltzer Open.