Las Vegas Weekly

July 21, 2008 · 12 PM

Sash advance: Miss America Organization officials confirm Luxe Life scoop

By Robin Leach

Jennifer Berry, in full flourish after winning the 2006 Miss America Pageant at Planet Hollywood's Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Photo: Las Vegas Sun

Just hours after Luxe Life broke the exclusive news that both the Miss America and the Miss USA beauty pageants were returning to Vegas both Planet Hollywood casino resort executives and parade officials confirmed our scoop! Miss America officials confirmed the 52 scholarship contestants will arrive on the Strip mid-January for a week of preliminary competitions. It will all culminate in a totally new live telecast on The Learning Channel on Saturday, Jan. 24, live from Vegas at 5p.m. for the 8 p.m. East Coast satellite feed.

“We are delighted to have the most beautiful girls on the planet 
returning here to their home at Planet Hollywood,” said Michael 
Mecca, president and chief executive officer of Planet Hollywood. "This 
is a wonderful event for not only Planet Hollywood, but for the city of 
Las Vegas, It 
gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase our magnificent resort.”

Art McMaster, president of the Miss America Organization, added: “We are equally pleased with naming Planet 
Hollywood as our Pageant home for the next two years. We are 
thrilled to be returning to Planet Hollywood again for this year’s 
telecast. We are continuing to build on new traditions here in 
Las Vegas and we are so pleased that Planet Hollywood Resort & 
Casino has chosen to be a part of Miss America’s continuing history in 
the entertainment capital of the world.”

Brent Zacky, vice president of programming for TLC, commented: “Planet Hollywood was a great partner in making last year's Miss America Live! such a success, and we look forward to working with everybody there again to make the 2009 event even better."

The 52 Miss America contestants will sweep into town in January to 
begin the preliminary in Swimsuit, Talent and Evening Wear competitions. 
The three nights of preliminaries will take place on Jan. 20, 21, 
and 22 at Planet Hollywood’s Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets 
for the preliminaries, as well as the Miss America Live! finals will be 
available to the public at Ticketmaster starting in 
December.

Miss America has called Planet Hollywood 
home since moving from Atlantic City in 2006. Kirsten 
Haglund, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, is the current Miss 
America. The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading 
achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship 
assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization 
and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 
million in cash and scholarship assistance.

Luxe Life will have details on both pageants as they develop and soon will release the official confirmations of dates for the Miss USA pageant expected to be in April.

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