Bookmakers Reel as Nathan's Hot Dog Champion Kobayashi Develops Jaw Ailment

It's not only competitive eating fans who are in shock at the news that Nathan's Famous hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi is in so much pain he can barely open his mouth. Kobayashi was expected to battle last year's second-place finisher Joey Chestnut in a hot dog battle of the titans this Fourth of July.

Bookmakers are frantically scrambling to adjust their odds boards. Betting site AcesAce temporarily took down their Nathan's contest board -- which gave roughly even odds to Kobayashi and Chestnut -- after the situation became murky. Oddschecker and Betting Zone also wiped their boards.

On Wednesday the story received yet another twist as the New York Times’s Tokyo bureau passed on the word to the City Room that Mr. Kobayashi (aka 'The Tsunami") received treatment for his jaw problems and intends to catch a flight to the United States on Thursday.

Will the mustard-yellow championship belt go to American Joey Chestnut this time around? Is Kobayashi's career finished? Wanna bet?

Fourth of July Hot Dog Madness In Coney Island Is Just Around the Corner

Photo of hot dog courtesy of Nathan's Famous.