Dan Gross: Wing Bowl champ Squibb eager to face Chestnut in 2011

JUST MOMENTS after chomping his way to another victory at 610-WIP's Wing Bowl 18 yesterday, returning champion

Jonathan "Super" Squibb

was already looking forward to next year's contest.

Squibb, who downed 238 wings, just shy of the record of 241 devoured by three-time Wing Bowl champ Joey Chestnut, is confident and looks forward to going up against Chestnut in the annual celebration of gluttony and strippers.

Although this year's event was amateur eaters only, WIP's Angelo Cataldi told us that pro eater Chestnut would be invited to compete in next year's gluttony contest.

"He may be the best eater in Philly. He may be the best Philly eater of all time, but he's no Joey Chestnut," said Chestnut, the former Nathan's Famous Hot Dog contest winner, about Super Squibb.

Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., was banned from this year's all-amateur event. He was there as part of Rick "The Manager" Russo's entourage, which also included local pro eaters Dave "U.S. Male" Goldstein and "Humble" Bob Shoudt.

Squibb, 24, of Berlin, N.J., says the next four days are going to be brutal as those 238 spicy chicken wings make their way through his digestive tract and out of his body.

While the participants, of course, captured a lot of attention, many eyes were focused on the Wingettes, which this year included porn actress-turned-politician-turned-reality-show star Mary Carey, who is dancing at the World Famous Gold Club (1416 Chancellor) through tonight, and adult film star Katie Morgan, dancing at Cheerleaders (Front & Oregon).

"Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, a special guest at Wing Bowl, was brutally booed upon entering the Wachovia Center floor and again when she rode a mechanical bull. When we caught up with Snooki before the contest, she said the next season of the MTV hit show could be filmed abroad because the producers told the cast to get their passports in order.

"I'm used to being in first class, but I had to be in coach and I got stuck between two fat guys," lamented Snooki about her overnight flight in from Los Angeles.

"When I pulled up, I saw guys drinking beers," she said of her arrival at the Wachovia Center, "so I was like. 'Whoa, this is going to be crazy!' I never knew there was ever an event like this," said the pint-size self-proclaimed Guidette.

Snooki, who declared on the show that she likes "juiceheads," steroid-taking muscular Italian men, said she didn't think there were any juiceheads in Philly, although she has a boyfriend so she didn't care.

Another Wingette who certainly turned heads was West Philly's Susan Finkelstein. The 44-year-old soon faces trial in Bucks County for allegedly offering sex for World Series tickets to an undercover Bensalem police officer.

Despite our questioning whether it was wise to appear scantily clad, and holding a "Need Phillies 2010 World Series Tickets" sign at the Wing Bowl after being charged with attempted prostitution, Finkelstein swore she had the blessing of her attorney, William J. Brennan. She was dressed as a sexy leopard in the entourage of the Hungry Hungry Hebrew, aka attorney Adam Taxin.

(You can see our video interviews with Snooki, Mary Carey, Susan Finkelstein and Angelo Cataldi at PhillyGossip.com.)

Taxin, a very observant Jew, disqualified himself after confessing to Cataldi, Al Morganti and Rhea Hughes that he substituted a plate of Kosher chicken wings for the official contest wings - of which 9,000 were provided by P.J. Whelihan's.

Taxin also ate a bagel and lox on stage before dropping out of the contest, now overseen by new Wing Bowl Commissioner Hank Fraley, the former Eagles center who plays for the Cleveland Browns.

Squibb won a 2010 Ford F-150 from C&C Ford and another Wing Bowl champion ring from Steven Singer Jewelers.

Washington Township's Lindsay Butler was the Wingette of the Year, winning a 2010 Harley Davidson 883 Sportster Motorcycle from Barb's Harley Davidson.

Those prizes and the capacity Wachovia Center crowd are a far cry from the couple of dozen people, (including my brother Jon), who attended the first Wing Bowl in 1993 in the lobby of the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, which is now the Sheraton City Center.

Freak of Nature, born John Harker, of Woodbury, N.J., took Top Entourage prize for his float of a giant football field. Freak and Co. won all-inclusive Apple Vacations to Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Although nobody could touch Super Squibb, many eaters seemed confident at the official Wing Bowl weigh-in Thursday night at Chickie's & Pete's (15th & Packer) and the adjacent Play 2 Lounge. Mary Carey arrived with fellow Gold Club dancers in the white stretch Lincoln of limousine tycoon Big Penny, driver to the stars, who wrangled two SEPTA cops into providing the vehicle a flashing-siren escort through Broad Street traffic.

"Damaging Doug" Canavin, who talked a lot of trash at Thursday's weigh-in, failed to make it into the second round of Wing Bowl. Twenty-eight other eaters such as Richard "Not Rich" Razzi, and John "Stormin' Norman" Tiska, Kevin "Kenzo Kev" Richmond, and Brian "Fat Bastard" Wolf, ate mostly Squibb's dust.

Better luck next year, gents.

Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest updates or follow PhillyGossip on Twitter. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit go.philly.com/dangross.