Bertoletti wins Nathan’s hot dog eating competition

CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (PIX11) ---- Patrick Bertoletti won the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July men’s hot dog eating competition on Thursday.

Bertoletti, 39, ate a personal-best 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes to beat out Geoffrey Esper (53) at the popular competitive eating contest on Coney Island. It was the Chicago native's first win.

In the absence of competitive eating great Joey Chestnut, Bertoletti, Nick Wehry, James Webb (52), and Esper were still neck-and-neck with about five minutes to go.

"We need more hot dogs," Major League Eating Commissioner George Shea yelled over the mic in the final minutes as Bertolleti cleared out his hot dogs.

Miki Sudo won the women’s hot dog eating competition. She defended her nine-time win streak and broke the record for most hot dogs eaten during a competition with 51. Her previous record was 48.5 hot dogs.

Robert Guidice, who has been bringing his three kids for 15 years after stumbling upon the competition one year, came to the beach for the holiday.

“It’s spectacular. It's enchanting and we enjoy the competition. We enjoy the weather, and then the surf,” he said.