Massachusetts
With Joey Chestnut out, Massachusetts resident Geoffrey Esper has ‘chance’ to win Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
Could a Bay Stater take the championship belt at the iconic Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
With world record holder Joey Chestnut out this year, the door has been opened for a new champ — which could be Massachusetts resident Geoffrey Esper.
The 49-year-old Oxford man, who finished in second place at last year’s contest, is one of the favorites for the legendary competition on the Fourth of July.
“I got a chance at the belt now,” Esper told the Herald ahead of Thursday’s contest.
“It’s still not going to be easy,” he added. “There are three other guys who are all pretty close, so it should be very close.”
The annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Championship, an American holiday tradition, will be held at the iconic Nathan’s Famous flagship restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island.
Last year, Chestnut claimed his 16th victory with 62 hot dogs and buns in the 10-minute, all-you-can-eat contest. Chestnut’s world record is 76 hot dogs and buns.
But Chestnut won’t be competing this year after he signed a deal with a rival brand. That means Esper, whose personal record is 51 hot dogs and buns, could get the top prize.
“It just depends on who has a really good day, and we’ll see what happens,” said Esper, who teaches electronics at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton.
“I’m just going to go out there and try to do my best,” he added.
The women’s competition begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday, and the men’s competition will start at 12:30 p.m. Nathan’s Famous will also make its annual donation of 100,000 Nathan’s Famous hot dogs to the Food Bank for New York City prior to the event.
“Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is the ultimate American holiday tradition,” said Phil McCann, VP of Marketing at Nathan’s Famous. “Each year thousands of fans join us at Nathan’s Flagship on the corner of Surf and Stillwell to witness history in the making.”
Thousands make the trip to Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island each year to watch the event in person. According to Major League Eating archives, the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Championship has occurred each July 4 in Coney Island since 1916.
“The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest has transformed America’s Independence Day into an international affair,” said Major League Eating Chair George Shea. “The greatest eaters from around the globe will once again convene in Coney Island to fight for the honor of their respective nations.”
Massachusetts
After Massachusetts gets some snow, could there be a White Christmas?
Are you dreaming of a White Christmas?
You could be in luck if you live in certain spots of the Bay State.
A few rounds of snow showers in the days leading up to Dec. 25 means there’s a “decent chance” for a White Christmas in parts of Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service’s Boston office.
The first round of snow is expected to come late Friday night into Saturday from an offshore coastal storm. Meteorologists are forecasting about 1 to 3 inches of snow, with the highest amounts across interior eastern Massachusetts.
“… Not expecting much in the way of impacts from this wintry system, more of a festive pre-Christmas snowfall that will drop anywhere from a coating to an inch or two from Friday into Saturday afternoon,” reads the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion.
Following the snow, get ready to bundle up. It will get downright frigid over the weekend.
“It will be one of the coldest air masses we’ve seen so far in the early portion of these winter months,” Andrew Loconto,a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald.
High temps on Saturday will be around freezing, and then the coldest air will be on Sunday when high temps will be in the low 20s — with wind chills around 10 to 15. The wind chills Sunday night could drop to five below zero.
Temps Monday should rebound into the upper 20s before ticking up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
But as far as precipitation goes for Christmas Eve and Day, there could be rain or snow depending on where you live. It’s looking more likely for rain in southeastern Massachusetts, and snowfall across the interior.
A White Christmas is defined as one inch of snow depth measured on Christmas morning.
“The areas with the best shot for an inch of snow is probably interior New England,” Loconto said. “There’s a decent chance (for a White Christmas) for those interior areas, and for northeastern Massachusetts.”
Massachusetts
What’s open and closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Massachusetts – The Boston Globe
Convenience stores: Open at owners’ discretion on both days.
Taverns, bars: Open at owners’ discretion on both days.
Movie theaters: Open both days.
Drug stores: Open both days.
Coffee Shops: Open at owners’ discretion both days.
Banks: Most are closed or open for limited hours both days.
Stock market: Closes at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.
Municipal, state, federal offices: Open on Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.
Libraries: Open with varying hours on Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.
Schools: Closed both days.
Mail: Post offices open with varying hours on Christmas Eve. Post offices closed Christmas Day; express delivery only.
MBTA: Subways, buses, commuter rail, the RIDE, and ferry routes will operate on regular weekday schedule on Christmas Eve. Silver Line service to and from Logan Airport will be increased.
On Christmas Day, subways, buses and the RIDE will operate on a Sunday schedule. Commuter rail will operate on a weekend schedule. There will be no ferry service. For more information, visit https://www.mbta.com/holidays.
Trash/recycling collection: Collections on Christmas Eve and no collections on Christmas Day in Boston. To monitor your neighborhood’s trash and recycling schedule, download the Trash Day App at: https://www.boston.gov/trash-day-schedule.
Sources: boston.gov and mass.gov.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the time the stock market closes on Christmas Eve.
Sabrina Lam can be reached at sabrina.lam@globe.com.
Massachusetts
Changes Coming to Mega Millions in 2025
Mega Millions lottery tickets will more than double in 2025, but the Massachusetts Lottery says you’ll have a better chance of winning.
The Lottery says, “Mega Millions, the multi-state lottery game that has produced a record six jackpot wins exceeding $1 billion, is getting ready for a ‘mega’ overhaul with plans to be bigger and better than ever when the new and improved game launches in April of 2025.”
The Massachusetts Lottery promises “improved odds to win the jackpot, bigger jackpots more frequently, larger starting jackpots, faster-growing jackpots, a built-in multiplier on every play, automatically improving every non-jackpot win by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, or 10X – up to $10 million for matching the five white balls, and no breakeven prizes, meaning when a player wins they’ll always win more than the cost of the ticket.”
Five jackpot prizes have been paid out in Massachusetts since the Mega Millions game began in 2022.
Forty-five states and two U.S. territories participate in the Mega Millions game.
The Associated Press quotes Christian Teja, the Massachusetts Lottery Director of Communications, as saying that “They’re constantly looking at ways to enhance the games, maybe make them a little bit different than Powerball.”
“You have probably heard about jackpot fatigue, it used to be $100 million and everybody was playing. Then it became $300 million,” Teja said. “Then it was $500 million. Now, it’s really approaching a billion dollars before you see the sales kick up.”
It currently costs $2 to play Mega Millions but the ticket price will increase to $5 in April 2025. Perhaps the lure of bigger prizes and better chances to win will overshadow the higher ticket cost.
25 Times SouthCoasters Won $1 Million or More in the Massachusetts Lottery
Since 2006, the Massachusetts State Lottery has kept a record of every winning ticket of $1 million or more. Here are 25 sold on the SouthCoast.
Gallery Credit: Gazelle
America’s Top 10 States With The Most Lottery Wins
Just how lucky is your state? A new list has determined which states have won the most money from either the Powerball or MegaMillions in the last 10 years.
Gallery Credit: Jahna Michal
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