MISS USA BEAUTY QUEENS TAKE OVER THE STRIP & TRAIN THE DOLPHINS
It’s been a whirlwind first 72 hours for the 51 Miss USA contestants since they arrived at their host Planet Hollywood Resort.
Their first night, with an Asian themed buffet dinner, gave them an opportunity to meet their new roommates for the next 15 days of competition. Relaxing with each other in the spacious lounge of the new celebrity-studded Koi restaurant they made new friends, snapped photos of each other and text-messaged family and friends back home. Incidentally congratulations to Koi being named that night “ best new restaurant” by the American Concierge Association’s southwest division.
Reigning Miss USA, Rachel Smith told me that because she crowns the new winner on April 11 she had to move out of her official apartment in New York to get it readied for the next Miss USA. “That was 27 boxes worth of clothes and souvenirs from traveling the world the last 12 months,” she said. “That went smoothly enough and I flew to Vegas with just three suitcases—and of course one got lost temporarily! Thankfully I forgot to bring the crown with me so the pageant lawyers will fly it out in time for the telecast.”
The live broadcast Miss USA President Paula Shugart, my former colleague at our old Star Search TV series, told me will showcase Vegas to over 100 countries around the world—many faraway viewers seeing the Strip for the first time ever. For 26-year-old Andrea Duke, Miss North Carolina it was also her first ever visit to Vegas. “There’s a few of us who are also seeing Vegas for the first time—a couple of the girls have only been here once before. It’s amazing and overwhelming. Hopefully we’ll get to see a lot of your sights and attractions even though it’s early to bed under curfew each night.” For 21-year-old Candice Crawford, Miss Missouri, she’s hoping Vegas is close enough for big brother Chase Crawford who stars as Nate Archibald on the hit TV Gossip Girl series, to jet over and watch the finals! Courageous 20-year-old Abbey Curran, Miss Iowa one of the five youngest in the pageant patiently and bravely fights Cerebral Palsy yet told the other beauty pageant contestants she’s not letting it stop her bid for a pilots license!
Next day all the contestants visited Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. Reigning queen Rachel got help from Greg Sabataso, assistant curator of dolphin care, in training Duchess—and then our personal-pick favorite Miss Nevada, Veronica Grabowski along with Miss California Raquel Beezley and Crystie Stewart, Miss Texas took their turn.
Over the weekend the entire group dined at Trader Vic’s Lava Lounge at Planet Hollywood Resort’s Miracle Mile Shops and singer-pianist Jimmy Hopper performed a special concert for them. The girls also participated in a sock-hop fundraiser in the resort’s Stomp Out Loud theater for a new branch of the Best Buddies charity for our favorite Vegas organization Opportunity Village.
Today (MON) all 51 girls get down in earnest with the serious part of the contest with early interviews and then tour the Nellis Air Force base to meet the famed Thunderbird pilots as another group works with Habitat for Humanity. Tonight the blonde and brunette beauties will attend the exuberant musical Stomp Out Loud at Planet Hollywood Resort and then dance the night away at the nearby Privé nightclub. Tomorrow (TUES) we’ll feature some of their first swimsuit and gown portrait photos—then Luxe Life will join them all again on Wednesday for a special On Top of Cloud 9 charity dinner at Maggiano’s in the Fashion Show opposite the Wynn and Encore resorts!