Speed, capacity, strategy Reno's upcoming athletic competition at Boomtown will challenge all three.
"It's not about excess," says George Shea, cofounder of the International Federation of Competitive Eating.
But expect the winner to down about 40- plus lobsters in 12 short minutes.
Rich "The Locust"LeFevre,watermeloneating champion and the third-ranked eater in the world,will be in attendance.
So will his wife, Carlene LeFevre, posole-eating champion and originator of "the Carlene pop".And Jed Donahue,world record-holder for jalapeno eating is expected."And he's not just a jalapenopepper- eating competitor," says Shea.He's versatile and will present some challenge to the others.
The event is part of an aggressive new marketing push for Boomtown's Lobster Buffet.
The buffet may be a favorite with locals, says Patrick Bassney, Boomtown senior director of marketing, but it's been around for five to six years.
And now, he says, it's time to dust it off and give it a new image.
Boomtown has seen some business fall-off part of the overall casino market falloff being attributed to Native American gaming facilities in California.
The dropoff may have impacted Boomtown harder than some of the others, says Bassney.
For 2004, Boomtown reported a drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to $10.2 million from $13.7 million in 2003, attributing it to competition from Native American gaming facilities in northern California.
Its location at the entrance to Reno once gave it an advantage for day-tripper business from Sacramento and other nearby California towns.
But now many of those day-trippers are taking an early exit off the freeway, heading up to the Thunder Valley Station casino instead.
"That's a portion of the business that we have sorely missed," says Bassney.
So,what to do? Invite The Locust to a lobster- eating challenge.
Boomtown cooks up about 2,500 lobsters for a typical Sunday buffet crowd, and upwards of 2,000 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The chefs will be cooking up about 500 extra for the April 9 contest, which is expected to draw about 15 hungry, competitive eaters.
The contest is going to require some jaw strength, says Shea.And much of the winning strategy will be around moving through the lobster,working it out of its shell.
The winner picks up a $2,000 purse and also gets a trip to the August Lobster! Lobster! World Lobster- Eating Championship in Maine.
Coupled with new billboards that Bassney promises "will make lobster-eating sexy again," and set alongside print and broadcast advertising, Boomtown's high-profile lobster-eating challenge is expected to garner some regional attention.
"Keep in mind," says Bassney,"the goal is to market Boomtown's all-you-can-eat Whole Maine Lobster, Steak and Seafood Buffet." That done, the fun can begin.
Gastronomes and veteran athletes of stomach- centric sports can descend on Boomtown.
And Boomtown's Lobster-Eating Challenge officially becomes part of the competitive eating circuit, a standout amongst the more prosaic eating contests of the circuit where winners have gained international acclaim by downing, for instance, 53.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes or six pounds of Spam in 12 minutes.
