MAYETTA — In the battle of wills to down a 72-ounce ribeye steak, side salad, fries and a roll in less than an hour, it was the steak that won Saturday at Prairie Band Casino.
None of the five men finished all of the food in the allotted time.
One contestant, Mike Meabon, said he had been training for two weeks before the contest. He said one way he decided to train was to watch a video on YouTube of a woman named Molly Schuyler, who ate two 72-ounce steaks in less than 10 minutes as a part of The Big Texan Steak Challenge in Amarillo, Texas.
“I’ve been eating as much as I can,” Meabon said before the contest. “Yesterday, I ate 10 pounds of bananas — because bananas are easier to digest. I didn’t want to eat anything heavy like I had been.”
Meabon said all he had eaten Saturday was a bit of Go-Gurt and applesauce.
While Meabon was training, contestants Jacob Yarnell and Jimbo Watson said they already had big appetites, so they didn’t feel the need to train. Both men even ate breakfast Saturday.
All three men said their strategy was to finish the steak first before worrying about the side items. They all believed they would finish the food within 15 minutes of the competition.
The three men were competing to win $1,000 in Prairie Cash, while Jeremy Goodwin, of WIBW-TV Channel 13, and Frank Chaffin, of WREN radio, were playing to win money for the Breakthrough House and the Topeka Rescue Mission, respectively.
Three of the contestants were chosen through a Facebook voting contest. Yarnell and Watson received more than 200 votes, while Meabon received nearly 70. Goodwin and Chaffin, since they were playing for charity, were automatic contestants.
The only rule noted during the competition was no one could vomit — what competitive eaters call “a reversal” — or else they would be disqualified. The casino staff provided trash cans for the five men, just in case.
When the competition began, four of the contestants began using their hands to eat the steak. Goodwin was the only one to use utensils.
Meabon and Chaffin were the first two to stop eating a little more than 30 minutes into the competition.
Goodwin ate the least amount, while Yarnell ate approximately four pounds of the steak, along with all of his fries.
As a consolation prize, all of the men received $250 in Prairie Cash, while Chaffin and Goodwin received $2,000 checks for their respective charities from the casino. They all received a black gift bag with a t-shirt, oven mitt and baseball cap, among other items.