Miss
USA latest pageant to move to Las Vegas
Officials hope contest will bring attention
to city, resort
Live from the Planet
Hollywood Resort in the heart of the Las
Vegas Strip: It's the Miss USA pageant! And before you say "we just
did this in January," you're half right; that was Miss America. Hot on
the high heels of that vaunted beauty contest, Miss USA pageant co-owners Donald
Trump and NBC
are unleashing their glammed-up version of American beauty on the same Las
Vegas stage.
No, this isn't a sign that Las Vegas is being
annexed by the deep South. It's doubtful the pageant lifestyle will become as
ingrained in our city culture as, say, political corruption or strip clubs.
But something does seem to be up. Why are these beauty pageants moving to Las
Vegas?
Some might say they're a marriage made in
heaven, or hell, because Sin City and pageants both objectify beautiful women.
Or, the collaboration is a good way to reinvigorate the flagging pageant
world, which once titillated millions but has become somewhat passe in a
society where images of half-dressed, hot women are as near as the
neighborhood billboard.
"I actually don't think that's a
complicated answer from my perspective," says Lynn Comella, assistant
professor of women's studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"These pageants are commercial entities. If their ratings have been
dropping, lagging, what better way to improve them than change the venue? And
what better change than the epicenter of popular culture?"
That's about right, according to Planet
Hollywood and Miss USA representatives. Las Vegas is cool and trendy; do
something in Las Vegas and it could become cool and trendy by default. But
it's also a great way to bring attention to Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood,
says Robert Earl, co-chairman of Planet Hollywood Resort. These broadcasts can
attract millions, Earl says, and reach people who may one day be guests at the
hotel.
"It was an irresistible opportunity for
Las Vegas. Two hours live on NBC where we get the chance to portray the whole
city and our new resort, it was an opportunity that we didn't want to go
by," Earl says. In watching tapes of previous broadcasts, Earl says he
was struck by the way the host city was featured so prominently. "They
always make a point that their broadcast is a good reflection of the city
where they're broadcasting from," he adds.
The Miss Universe pageant was broadcast from Las Vegas 10 years ago, says Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, which also operates Miss USA. The organization had been talking about moving here for years, she says, and 2008 was the perfect timing. It helps that Las Vegas is considered the entertainment capital of the world, Shugart says. "There's an excitement here that's easy to tap into," she explains. "It's great for a television show, that excitement. I don't want to say the party atmosphere but the excitement."
Miss
USA Photo Recap:
Rehearsals from Plane Hollywood - Wednesday
Beckie
Hughes, Miss Colorado USA 2008; Shanon Lersch, Miss Illinois USA 2008; Rachel
Howells, Miss Arkansas USA 2008; Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas USA 2008; and
Tiffany Andrade, Miss New Jersey USA 2008, rehearse for the 2008 Miss USA
Competition at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on Wednesday, April 2,
2008
LauRen Merola, Miss Pennsylvania USA 2008;
Mary Lee Horch, Miss Oregon USA 2008;
and Kaetlin Parent, Miss Maine USA 2008
Michael Schwandt leads the delegates during rehearses
Getting
to Know: Miss Pennsylvania USA
LauRen Merola's T-shirt represented her personality perfectly. It sparkled and glittered, a form-fitting black shirt with burnt orange and maroon sequins. Merola -- a model, beauty queen and former professional cheerleader --likes the shirt's "edginess." The sequins spelled out "Virginia Tech Hokies," one of her two favorite college athletic programs. But more than the college, it represented her passion for sports, and competition in general.
The
evening gown Merola had on five minutes earlier fit her well too. The
butterscotch dress, glimmering with intricate networks of crystal beads, was
tailored specifically for Merola.
In
three weeks, the dress will serve as Merola's uniform when she shows up for
the big game -- the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas. She arrived in Las Vegas on
Wednesday, with cameras ready to greet her and the other 50 candidates at the
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
Glamour, for the sake of competition, suits Merola well. "I'm not your typical pageant girl," Merola said during an interview this week. Her pageant experience started with a riot. Merola, born and raised in Baldwin, first competed in a pageant for 2- and 3-year-olds at Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial in Pittsburgh. She won, but never had a chance to wear the crown. Merola's mother, Dana, said the speaker system stopped working before the pageant organizers announced the winners, leading to mayhem in the hall -- parents stormed the stage and stole awards. "I swore to never do pageants again," Dana said.
LauRen Merola, Miss Pennsylvania USA 2008,
begins the transformation into beauty queen
at Dean of Shadyside Salon in Pittsburgh.
Throughout
her childhood, Merola watched the national beauty pageants and longed to try
the competitions again. She had the training -- Merola practiced several forms
of dance from age 4 on. She had the looks -- the Soldiers and Sailors win was
no fluke. She had the attitude -- her mother said LauRen grabbed people's
faces and turned them back to her if they weren't watching her.
When she was in eighth grade, Merola and her family moved to South Florida. It was there that she began competing in pageants again. Now, at age 23, Merola, is Miss Pennsylvania. On April 11, she may have the title "Miss USA" as well. "I'd put all my chips on her," said Jennifer Watkins Vinsick, Merola's manager.
Vinsick serves as manager for Miss Pennsylvania, Miss West Virginia and Miss Indiana. She also serves as director of administration for Miss USA in the three states. On Monday, Merola met Vinsick at Pennsylvania's pageant headquarters, located in a residential house on Driftwood Road in Brownsville, to try on the finished evening gown. When Merola exited the bathroom with the dress on, there was no "Ta-da!" moment, nothing on par with a bride trying on her wedding gown or a high school senior finding her prom dress.
Instead, it was right down to business. Vinsick, who won Miss Pennsylvania in 2001, snapped a photo of Merola and the duo began analyzing how the dress matched her recently highlighted, lowlighted and toned hair -- glamour, for the sake of competition. Merola spent almost four hours earlier that day at Dean of Shadyside Salon getting rid of the "skunk strip," or highlights with dark roots, on her head. Ken Zana, Merola's hair stylist since 2004, wrapped portions of her hair with plastic sheets covered in translucent goop. Then he dried Merola's hair under a heat lamp. Then washed the hair. Then added white goop.
Then
the process of washing and drying proceeded for another hour, followed by a
hair cut. What was the end result of the hair extravaganza? "Ken, is this
going to lighten up?" Merola asked, somewhat anxious. "It's brown.
Why is it so brown?" "It's not brown, it'll lighten up," Zana
replied.
"It's not light enough. I need blonde, not brown," Merola said, her expression apologizing to Zana for extending an already long process. Zana admitted he liked the darker hair better than the blonde hair Merola sported for Miss Pennsylvania. Merola understood, but had more important priorities -- her hair had to match the dress. Merola studies every facet of pageantry like a football television analyst -- a job she wouldn't mind having one day. She was a cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins for three years, and developed a habit professional football players practice -- video review. She studies previous pageant winners to figure out what works.
Her competitive spirit came from her father, who died of lung cancer almost four years ago. Merola's mother said he would leave the second Merola's name wasn't announced as the winner at pageants. Merola has held onto her father's competitive fire, and carries his memory into competition. Cancer prevention is now her platform. With the looks, the competitive drive and a worldly knowledge -- Merola visited Bosnia, Hong Kong, Vienna and Kosovo while working with the United Service Organization as a Dolphins cheerleader -- she believes the Mikimoto pearl-strewn Miss USA crown, and the one-year contract as a representative of some of Donald Trump's companies, is within her grasp. "I know I'm ready for the job, so I kind of have blinders on," Merola said. She trusts the blinders pair well with her glimmering, game day butterscotch uniform.