NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Mar 7, 2012) - Today DietBet.com, an online social dieting game that gives players the opportunity to compete to lose weight, announced several members of All Pro Eating will pull a dietary 180 and participate in a dietbet. This out-of-ordinary weight-loss challenge kicks-off with a "last supper" competitive eating contest of gigantic New York style pizza slices followed immediately by a weigh-in at the perfect location for such an event, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Times Square Odditorium, located at 234 West 42nd Street, on Friday, March 9 at 11:30 am.
The public is invited to cheer on the eaters as they bulk up before embarking on their four-week weight loss competition. Hopefully the competitors -- and the scales -- can handle getting a little cheese grease and tomato sauce on them from the 32" Koronet pizzas. The eating contest will be immediately followed by the official weigh-in to kick off the dietbet.
Players who reach their goal of dropping four percent of their starting weight in four weeks will split a $1,000 pot. Trained to do nothing but consume everything in front of them as quickly as possible, these men-turned-eating-machines will think twice before competing over the next month in wing-offs, hot dog races, taco triathlons, and milkshake marathons.
Members of All Pro Eating participating in the competition include:
- Will "The Champ" Millender - Brooklyn resident; four time and current New York Stinky Cheese Eating Champion; featured on Discovery Channel, MTV, and National Geographic
- Joel "The Cannon" Podelsky - from Laurence Harbor, NJ, once ate a pumpkin pie in 70 seconds; is the current National Bun & Cheese Eating Champion; was featured on "America's Got Talent"
- Mike "Sisco-Kid" Sisco - hails from Brooklyn; known as the Velvet Voice of Competitive Eating
- Eric "Silo" Dahl - a college junior from Delano, MN, is the #1 Ranked All Pro Eating and #1 Ranked Collegiate Competitive Eater; is the World Hands-Free Pumpkin Pie Eating Champion and National Pulled Pork Eating Champion
- Todd "The Hungry Genius" Greenwald - from Madison, Wisconsin, is the All Pro Eating Promotions partner/chairman
- Jammin' Joseph Larue - hails from Kentucky and is the National Food Court Eating Champion
The Champ, The Cannon, and Sisco-Kid will be competing live at Ripley's Odditorium on 42nd Street, while the others will be weighing in remotely. Ripley's Believe It or Not! Times Square's own Greg Dubin, known as the "Great Dubini," will emcee the fattening festivities.
"Competitive eaters going on diets, giant slices of pizza -- you know we're excited to host DietBet's event," said Michael Hirsch, president/general manager of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Times Square. "At Ripley's, we celebrate the unexpected and can't wait to watch this group of pro-eaters in their last meal before starting such an unbelievable feat."
DietBet injects fun, competition, and social collaboration into Americans' seemingly never-ending quest to shed extra weight. Players use the DietBet message boards to offer both encouragement and trash talk. Getting into the spirit, Will "The Champ" Millender recently shipped a case of Twinkies to Todd "The Hungry Genius" Greenwald.
"I've been in all kinds of eating competitions and this is one of the most unusual," said Jammin' Joseph Larue. "Getting professional eaters to lose weight... it's like asking fish to walk or librarians to scream."
"We relish the opportunity to watch these expert eaters tackle a different kind of food-related competition. We're curious to see what they do to fill the time. Maybe Joel 'The Cannon' will get into Words With Friends," said Jamie Rosen, DietBet's founder. "Traditionally, 'diet' has been viewed as a four-letter word and we're proving that with DietBet, weight-loss can actually be fun."
About DietBet
DietBet is an online social dieting game that gives players the opportunity to win money through weight-loss competitions. Dietbetters play with friends and co-workers and put money into a pot; whoever reaches the goal by the end of four weeks wins the pot (or splits it). It's motivation through friendly competition, with real rewards. Founded by Jamie Rosen and launched in December of 2011, DietBet makes losing weight fun. Find DietBet on Facebook and Twitter.
About Ripley's Believe It or Not! Times Square
Located in Times Square in the heart of New York City, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium brings people of all ages face-to-face with the world's most unbelievable curiosities. With 18,000 square feet of astonishing artifacts, exclusive oddities, exciting interactive exhibits and heart-stopping sideshow performers, this one-of-a-kind attraction welcomes visitors to experience the unusual and unexpected, where the entire family will rediscover wonder around every corner. Ripley's Believe It or Not! Times Square is open from 9:00am - 1:00am. For further information visit www.ripleysnewyork.com. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RipleysNYC
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About All Pro Eating Promotions
Founded in 2004, All Pro Eating Promotions has sanctioned over 170 major Competitive Eating Championships, contests and events throughout the world that showcase "Picnic Style Rules" which were created and developed by All Pro Eating. All Pro Eating Promotions' "Eatertainers" (event participants) along with their events and contests have been featured in all forms of major worldwide media. All Pro Eating Promotions is also home to the Nation's only Collegiate Competitive Eating sanctioning body - The National Collegiate Competitive Eating Association ("The NCCEA"). More information can be found at http://www.CompetitiveEaters.com and http://www.TheNCCEA.com.
