CasaBlanca Rib Fest features award-winning barbecue, family activities and champion eater Joey Chestnut

Stock image | Photo by puhhha/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Mesquite Gaming, owner of the CasaBlanca Resort and the Virgin River Hotel, is excited to announce world champion eater Joey Chestnut will be participating in this year’s three-day barbecue festival, the fourth annual CasaBlanca Rib Fest.

Exterior of the CasaBlanca Resort & Casino in Mesquite, Nev., date not specified | Photo courtesy of Mesquite Gaming, St. George News

Kicking off Sept. 10, the CasaBlanca Rib Fest will feature some of the country’s best barbecue vendors cooking up delicious ribs and barbecue in addition to fun tailgating games, daily eating contests and a DJ to keep the energy high through Sunday. 

Fresh off a record-setting victory at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York, chow-down champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut will be judging, eating and autographing on Sept. 11 per the following schedule (all times are Pacific Daylight Time)

Noon to 2 p.m. At the CasaBlanca Event Center, Chestnut will judge two watermelon eating competitions: 

Noon – Mesquite school principals competition – The Mesquite school principals will go against each other, and the winning school will receive a $500 donation from Mesquite Gaming to their school. 

2 p.m. – Mesquite Police Department vs. Mesquite Fire Department – The two departments will go against each other. The winning department will get a $1,000 donation to their charity of choice on behalf of Mesquite Gaming.

2-3 p.m. Chestnut will be signing autographs at the CasaBlanca Event Center. Free to the public.

7 p.m. At the CasaBlanca Showroom, Chestnut will go against select VIPs in a barbecue food eating competition. Free to the public to attend. 

Christian Adderson, assistant general manager at Mesquite Gaming, said their three barbecue competition teams have each been perfecting their recipes for decades and have won countless prestigious awards.

“Having the No. 1 eater in the world, Joey Chestnut, on hand will add a new level of excitement to the entertaining festivities our visitors have come to expect,” Adderson said. 

Notable food vendors include Austin’s Texas Lightning, bringing more than 30 years of experience serving award-winning barbecue; Chicago BBQ Company, first place-winner at 2017’s Best in the West Rib Festival; and Texas Outlaw BBQ, boasting more than 250 first-place awards in 25 years. This year, attendees will get to choose which barbecue they love the most and vote for the People’s Choice award. Participants can vote once per day online, and the team with the most votes by Sunday evening will win $2,000. 

This year’s full CasaBlanca Rib Fest schedule of activities is as follows (all times are Pacific Daylight Time): 

Friday, Sept. 10

CasaBlanca Event Center, 1-7 p.m. 

Beginning at 1 p.m., attendees can enjoy barbecue and carnival-style food vendors, a beer garden, tailgate activities and games and live music with DJ Lex. The day’s schedule also includes children’s watermelon eating contests and prize giveaways.  

  • 4:30 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: The Coyote 102.7 vs. 99.9 KONY Country.  
  • 5 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 8 to 9 year-olds. 
  • 5:30 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 10 to 11-year-olds. 
  • 7 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 12 to 13 year-olds. 

Saturday, Sept. 11

CasaBlanca Event Center, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Beginning at 11 a.m., attendees can enjoy barbecue and carnival-style food vendors, a beer garden, tailgate activities and games and music with DJ Lex. The day’s schedule also includes children’s watermelon eating contests and prize giveaways. 

  • Noon: Watermelon eating contest: Virgin Valley High School principal vs. Hughes Middle School principal. 
  • 2 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: Mesquite Police Department vs. Mesquite Fire Department.
  • 3:30 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 8- to 9-year-olds. 
  • 4 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 10- to 11-year-olds.
  • 5 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 12- to 13-year-olds. 

CasaBlanca Showroom, 7-8 p.m. 

Chestnut will go against select VIPs in a barbecue food eating competition and try to break his own barbecue eating record. 

Sunday, Sept. 12

CasaBlanca Showroom, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Beginning at 11 a.m., attendees can enjoy barbecue and carnival-style food vendors, a beer garden, tailgate activities and games and music with DJ Lex. The day’s schedule also includes children’s watermelon eating contests and prize giveaways. 

  • Noon: Watermelon eating contest: 8- to 9-year-olds. 
  • 1 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 10- to 11-year-olds.
  • 2 p.m.: Watermelon eating contest: 12- to 13-year-olds. 

The CasaBlanca Rib Fest is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the CasaBlanca Resort website or follow Mesquite Gaming on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram 

Mesquite Gaming, located 77 miles north of Las Vegas, includes Virgin River Hotel-Casino-Bingo and CasaBlanca Resort-Casino-Golf-Spa. A premier golf destination, Mesquite Gaming owns and operates the Palms Golf Club and the CasaBlanca Golf Club. Combined, the two properties feature 1,186 guest rooms, 76,000 square feet of casino space with 1,600 slot machines and 36 gaming tables and 70,000 square feet of meeting and convention space including an outdoor entertainment venue. For more information, visit the Mesquite Gaming website.

• S P O N S O R E D  C O N T E N T • 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!