Las Vegas Weekly

May 25, 2010 · 11:32 AM

DWTS photos: Two Las Vegas pro dancers are tied for 1st

By Robin Leach

Anna Trebunskaya and Evan Lysacek with Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough in the Dancing With the Stars finals on May 24, 2010.

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek was on thin ice last night after he slipped and fell to the bottom spot on the first night of the Season 10 finals of Dancing With the Stars. The disappointing performance with partner Anna Trebunskaya won them only 52 points.

That propelled dark-horse candidates ESPN host Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy past them and put them in a tie at 55 points apiece with frontrunners Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough.

Tonight when all three couples get one additional chance for votes, it means that our Le Reve choreographer Maks and former Las Vegas dance hero Derek will go head-to-head in competition. All the duos will dance the Argentine tango, by total coincidence their choice as their favorite dance of the season.

Will viewers support Evan and Anna in sufficient numbers to get them back into the game? Have Erin and Maks finally proved that they should battle it out against Nicole and Derek in the final dance-off? The last-minute suspense and shuffling of the scores on the leaderboard last night with the new frontrunners guarantee a record-breaking audience tonight for ABC.

Also on tonight’s two-hour finale that will decide who goes home with the prized mirror disco-ball trophy will be the return of all the Season 10 contestants, including Las Vegas favorites actress Pamela Anderson and legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The Bachelor star Jake Pavelka dances with his fiancee Vienna, and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco performs a romantic rumba with rumored love interest Cheryl Burke. All eyes, though, will be on the return of Kate “The Eight” Gosselin, as she will attempt a high-flying high-wire dance routine with partner Tony Dovolani.

Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli also will determine the winner of the college ballroom battle between Purdue and Utah Valley.

Once the third-place celebrity duo has been announced, the remaining two couples will perform their fourth and final dance for the judges’ scores, which will be combined with the judges’ and TV viewer scores last night. Those total votes determine the winner.

Will Evan recover and ace out Erin in time? Will it come down to Nicole and Evan? Or now as it looks will it be between Nicole and Erin, a battle of the brunette vs. the blonde. After last night’s results, the only thing known for sure is that Nicole and Derek will definitely be one of the final two.

We’ll have our spoiler-alert story posted within a few moments after the East Coast satellite broadcast from Hollywood. We’ll use Twitter to report on the two-hour finale but without judges’ scores. And we’ll have the winner photos as soon as ABC releases them.

Tonight’s West Coast viewers will have to keep their eyes well away from all news media -- not just Vegas DeLuxe and my Twitter -- as the results will be on all the national and international media outlets at 8 p.m. PT -- one hour before the show airs on the West Coast.

Meantime, enjoy this spectacular photo gallery from Adam Larkey of ABC, and check back here tomorrow for another gallery from the winning dances and the celebrity winner celebrations.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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