My Review of Miss USA 2009 Pageant

I was able to attend this year's Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas and thought I would share my experience with you all. As you know, the pageant was held at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. We arrived a bit early and took seats at a bar just outside the theatre. Several of the Miss Teen USA state representatives were there with their parents and chaperones. Very unapproachable, no eye contact, no smiles. I was going to ask to be photographed with a couple of them, but everytime I smiled at one, she turned her head. Oh well!

Our bartender was telling us that he had been seeing the girls come in and out all month. One day he called out to the girl from his state and was trying to just be nice to her. He told us she rolled her eyes at him and blew him off. Another girl brought an entourage--she had people holding her purse, her cell phone, etc. We did meet Miss California's mother while we waited to go in and she was very very nice. I was concerned because I brought my camera and there was a big sign that said no cameras allowed. I asked if she had one and she told me she would talk to security, one of whom she knew. She came back and told me not to worry about it. I wished her daughter luck.

Once we got inside it was really cool. The stage looked more impressive in person than on tv. We sat in the very back with one row behind us---within just a few steps of a beer stand!!! I noticed that there were rows and rows of empty seats which made me wonder why our seats were so far back. About 10 minutes before the show went on the air, an announcment was made: "Seat fillers, seat fillers. Please make your way to your seats. We will be live in ten minutes." Out of nowhere tons of people crawled out of the woodwork and took the empty seats. We also ended up sitting 2 rows behind Miss Tennessee's parents and her dad was very nice.

Finally the show starts. Let me tell you--all that applause you hear on tv---canned. Yes, there was applause but nowhere near the level you hear on tv. Billy Bush seemed to lack his usual enthusiasm and I did not care for Nadine at all! As for the cameras....as soon as the show started, cameras were out and popping like crazy. I did take some photos but they didn't turn out very well.

Time for the top 15! You could barely hear the announcement music. It was very very low and not loud. I expected it to be loud to creat the excitement as you wait to hear the states called. I didn't like how they said the delegates names. I prefer just announcing the state.

Swimsuits/Evening gown: Nice suits from the Jessica Simpson collection, but Kevin Rudolph and the Veronicas are forgettable to say the least. I wish they would have more appropriate instrumental music like they used to do. There were two large screens on each side of the stage so you could see what was being telecast. Didn't care for the snippet of the girls going on about their gowns either.

The final question: When Carrie Prejean answered her question, there were a few boos, but I actually heard more applause than negative reactions. By this point I was becoming bored and had made more than few trips to the beer stand! I wasn't sure who was going to win as we could not see the scores in the theatre. I thought it would be either California or Utah. North Carolina was pretty, but she is kind of a generic looking blonde to me.

Overall, I am happy I was able to attend the Miss USA pageant. Not quite the big event I was expecting and it was kind of disappointing. We didn't go to the after party because Miss CA's mom told us it was only going to last about an hour and most of the girls weren't going. I could see Donald Trump and Miss Universe from where we were sitting, although they looked really small. I did buy a program book for $25 that had the Fadil 1940s type fashion photos. Actually I bought two. While I was drinking I lost the first one and bought another on my way out. I couldn't go to the Miss USA pageant and not leave without a program, haha!

The next night we went to Prive, the club at Planet Hollywood. I have a friend who lives in Las Vegas and a girl he knows got us in the VIP section with some of her friends. One of the girls works at one the casino bars and said one of the Miss USA girls was at the bar every night, partying pretty hard and acting very unladylike. She encountered some of the other girls too and said for the most part they were very stuck up, no personality, and very demanding. To see and hear these things kind of shattered my illusion that the girls are as nice as they are pretty. Anyway, here are some of my photos. They aren't the best, but thought I would share them with you all.

thank you for the nice review... the stage does look more impressive than it was on TV.

GREAT REVIEW AND IT REALLY SEEMS U HAD THE BEST OF TIME. I EXPECTED MORE PROFESSIONALISM IN THEIR PRODUCTION I MUST ADMITT, I ALSO DIDNT LIKE THE WAY THEY ANNOUNCED THEIR NAMES(POOR UTAH....LIKE SHE HAD TO APOLOGIZE FOR HAVING A FOREIGN LASTNAME TO THE HOSTESS) AND THE MUSIC.....OH THE MUSIC......TERRIBLE.ONLY THING I LIKED WAS THE TV INTRO MUSIC

CARRIE SCREWED FOR ME...SHE HAD TO BE CAREFUL ON WHAT SHE REPRESENTS....SHE WAS MISS CALIFORNIA ON STAGE NOT CARRIE,MISS BLANCO NEVER REALLY ANSWERED THE FINAL QUESTION, KENTUCKY WAS TOTALLY NOT TOP 5 MATERIAL,SOUTH CAROLINA A TYPICAL SWEET BLONDE....NOT FIERCE IN ANY KIND OF WAY....AND UTAH FOR ME TOTALLY ROBBED(I WONDERED HOW MANY TIMES THE HOSTS WOULD KEEP SAYING THAT SHE IS FROM BULGARIA....LIKE SHE HAS NOTHING ELSE INTERESTING ON HER).

ANYWAY THE BEST OF LUCK TO MISS SOUTH CAROLINA ON THE UPCOMING MU.

PS:I NOW KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO IN MY LIFE...FORGET ROGERS...FORGET YOUNG....I WANNA BE A SEAT FILLER!!!!! :-126-:

Really thanks for this honest review, Scotty, sometimes we all need to open our eyes!

To TIDUS - I hope there is one day in a future when you will not dreaming about UTAH

Lucky wrote:Really thanks for this honest review, Scotty, sometimes we all need to open our eyes!

To TIDUS - I hope there is one day in a future when you will not dreaming about UTAH

Granny Tidus, it's NORTH Carolina. SOUTH Carolina was the "mother-of-the-bride" looking one.

bubbles wrote:Granny Tidus, it's NORTH Carolina. SOUTH Carolina was the "mother-of-the-bride" looking one.

YES GRAND DAUGHTER OF MINE (OH THIS BROUGHT UP BAD MEMORIES.......DIDNT IT? ) U ARE RIGHT!

" but everytime I smiled at one, she turned her head...