Monday, April 3, 2006 | 8:51 a.m.
The formula worked as Miss Oklahoma Jennifer Berry was named Miss America by host James Denton during a telecast from the aladdin Theatre for the performing arts that drew the highest ratings in CMT history.
It went well enough that Las Vegas is the odds-on favorite to host the 2007 contest. Nothing was officially confirmed over the weekend, but I would expect Vegas to be announced soon as the 2007 host (Miss America organization Chief Executive Art McMaster spent much of the weekend in town and was not available for comment Sunday).
Also over the weekend the Miss America organization threw in what it calls "another twist" in the pageant with a seven-episode documentary series titled "Finding Miss America." The show will follow the 52 contestants (that's 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands) through the long and winding road to the pageant.
"Finding Miss America" will air on CMT in the days before the pageant in January. The series will begin with each of the contestants traveling to the host city in the fall so they can be divided into seven groups. Each group will be featured in one of the seven episodes. also announced, for the first time in the pageant's 85-year history viewers will be allowed to cast votes over the phone and at CMT.com to determine the field of finalists.
Plinko alert: Tickets are on sale for a live production of "The Price is Right" at Bally's Jubilee Theatre. The price is set at $44. Unlike the TV show, at Bally's every audience member (who is required to be age 21 or older to participate) is in the contest and plays by using interactive touch pads.
The show begins april 25 and runs Tuesdays through Thursdays at 2:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. (dark Mondays) ...
The two-night show: We've been alerted, confusedly, that the VIP/media opening performance for "The Sopranos' Last Supper" at Krave is "Monday, April 10, or Tuesday, April 11, at 5 p.m." ...
The skinny at BOA: nibbling on watercress salad with some friends at Boa Steakhouse on Saturday was Nicole Richie ...
TGI more food news: Main Street Restaurant Group has announced that a T.G.I. Friday's will open April 10 at the orleans. It's the first time a T.G.I. Friday's will operate from a casino (an event sure to inspire many new pieces of flair). Also, on Thursday, Silverton opens its new fine-dining buffet, Seasons, which the hotel says will "serve classic and exotic cuisine for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch." ...
Horn aplenty: Several days ago Beth lano, of the "Mike O'Brian and Beth Lano in the Morning" show on KSTJ 102.7-FM, sent a group e-mail that started, "... you know me well enough to know I do NOT get starstruck, but ..." I figured she would launch into an account of her recent PBS performance as part of the orchestra backing Andrea Bocelli at lake las Vegas. Not so. Lano continued, "... this morning we interviewed Walt Parazaider from the group Chicago, and I have to say it was one of the highlights of my life ... I have no idea what I asked him."
That all makes sense if you know Lano is a world-class French horn player and Parazaider, who plays flute and sax and was a charter member of the Chicago Transit Authority, helped incorporate horns into rock 'n' roll ...
Virgin unrest: The British monthly magazine Aerospace International reports that Virgin Atlantic is investigating an incident that unfolded aboard a Boeing 747 flying between london's Gatwick International Airport and McCarran International in Las Vegas. The jet hit severe turbulence and, according to reports, passengers panicked when a flight attendant shouted, "We're crashing, we're crashing!" ...
Time after time: reader Marilyn Kidwell, who identifies herself as a "mother of four kids and a 1982 DeLorean owner," responded to a recent license plate sighting on a DeLorean (MYFUTRE) with her own BAKNTIM.
Fabulous Las Vegas runs Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. John Katsilometes can be reached at 259-2327 or 812-9812, or at [email protected].
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