Voorhees postal worker delivers an eating win

If your mail in Haddonfield has a slight perfume of seafood today...

Dave "US Male" Goldstein of Voorhees, 41, a regular at Wing Bowl and letter carrier, won the 2009 Showboat Mudbug Eating Championship.

Mudbugs? They're more popularly known as crawfish, and yesterday's contest at the House of Blues at the Showboat in Atlantic City was Mardi Gras-themed.

This was a major upset -- and not upset as in "stomach." Goldstein, who ate 4.99 pounds of the critters to get him a $1,500 prize, was ranked #28 by the International Federation of Competitive Eating.

Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, ranked 6th in the world, was second, with 4.14 pounds ($500 prize). Third was Eric "Badlands" Booker, ranked 13th, with 3.88 pounds ($250). Fourth was Humble Bob Shoudt of Royersford, ranked 5th, with 2.83 pounds ($150).

Contacted on his postal route in Haddonfield, Goldstein said his fingers still bear the spicy smell of crawfish. This contest, by the way, relied heavily on technique. Crawfish are tiny little critters, so the eaters had to pick off the head and eat the meat from the tail end. The crawfish were served in 10-pound trays. Since all weight counted, the eaters drank the brine from the pan. "It tasted awful," said Goldstein, who prefers chicken wings.

VIDEO: Goldstein's 2008 Wing Bowl qualification, in which he ate 4 pounds of sloppy Joe.