Connecticut crowned Miss USA in Las Vegas
It’d be too easy, and probably a little rude, to make a joke about “figures,” so we won’t.
Instead, let’s just note that Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady, a 25-year-old accountant, was named Miss USA 2013 on Sunday during a nationally televised competition at Planet Hollywood Resort.
Brady, from South Glastonbury, Conn., will represent the United States in the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant, which, it was announced Sunday, will be later this year in Moscow.
Miss Alabama USA Mary Margaret McCord was named first runner-up. Rounding out the roster of top finishers, in order, were Miss Illinois USA Stacie Juris, Miss Utah USA Marissa Powell (who also earned “Miss Photogenic” honors), Miss Texas USA Ali Nugent and Miss South Carolina USA Megan Pinckney.
In the first pageant she ever had entered, Miss Nevada USA Chelsea Caswell of Las Vegas made it into the top 15 and then the top 10 before being eliminated in the top 5 round (which this year was a top 6 round; Miss Texas USA made it in via a viewer Twitter campaign).
This was the second year in a row that Nevada’s Miss USA representatives advanced past the first cut. Last year, Miss Nevada USA 2012 Jade Kelsall won third runner-up honors overall.
Last year’s Miss USA winner, Olivia Culpo, relinquished her title after winning the Miss Universe 2012 title in December. That made first runner-up Nana Meriwether Miss USA 2012, and it was Meriwether who crowned Brady as her successor Sunday.
The always glittery event — Sunday’s was the 62nd anniversary competition — featured contestants representing 50 states and the District of Columbia
Contestants competed in swimsuit, evening gown and interview rounds. Sunday’s interview questions from judges covered such issues as raising legal drinking ages, government tracking of phone records and the leaking of government documents.
During a news conference after the pageant, Brady said that she works as an accountant and joked that her bosses are “going to be very upset I won’t be working tomorrow morning.”
Actually, it’s worse than that: Brady now begins a yearlong schedule of events as Miss USA 2013, including raising awareness of breast and ovarian cancer and competing in the Miss Universe competition in Russia on Nov. 9.
Donald Trump, owner of the Miss Universe organization, said this will be the first time Miss Universe has been in Russia and called the agreement “a great thing for both countries.”
Brady, meanwhile, said that she “can’t wait for Moscow.”
As usual, fans at the pageant included dressed-to-the-nines women in sparkly dresses and sharp-suited guys, as well as attendees who were a bit more casual but no less enthusiastic in supporting their home-state favorites.
Victoria Estilette, 17, of Eunice, La., competes in the Miss Teen Louisiana USA pageant. Sunday’s event marked her first time at a Miss USA pageant and, she said, “my first time in Las Vegas.”
What did she think? “It’s different. It’s not Louisiana,” she said. “The food, the people. It’ s a lot more exciting.”
And who was she supporting? “Miss Louisiana, of course,” Estilette said, as if the “Geaux Girault” T-shirt she wore in honor of Miss Louisiana USA Kristen Girault didn’t make that clear enough.
A few hours before the show, during red carpet arrivals, savvy fans standing outside the official photographers’ area used their camera phones to capture images of celebrity attendees and judges.
Among the VIPs were fashion designer Betsey Johnson, actress Wendie Malick, TV and radio commentator Mo Rocca, actress and singer-songwriter Christina Milian, Holly Madison and Miss Alabama USA 2011 and TV personality Katherine Webb.
Dan Berezowski and Yesenia Villalobos of Chicago stopped by Planet Hollywood to check on their tickets for today’s performance of “Peepshow” and happened upon the hubbub.
“We had no idea this was going on,” Berezowski said. “It’s cool to be able to see it up close.”
So they, too, stuck around to capture a few photos — “Christina Milian and Holly Madison, and that actress from ‘Hot in Cleveland’ ” Berezowski said.
Paul Ortiz and Leah Urbanski of Las Vegas were at Planet Hollywood for a World of Warcraft gathering and caught a few photos themselves.
“We’re huge fans of NeNe Leakes” of the TV series “Glee” and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Ortiz said. “We always watch ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta.’ ”
Trump also said after the pageant that there will be “a big announcement” in Russia about the location of the next Miss USA competition.
Las Vegas has been hosting the event since 2008. There has been speculation that the event might leave Las Vegas, perhaps only temporarily, but a pageant spokeswoman said Sunday that the Miss Universe/Miss USA organization has not made an official announcement regarding Miss USA 2014.
Contact reporter John Przybys at
jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280
