By Madhuri Dey
Las Vegas, Jan 31, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The Miss America Pageant took place on Jan 30, 2010. The contest was being held in Las Vegas, and was being hosted by Mario Lopez. The contest was held in the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas. The judges of the contestants were Rush Limbaugh,the popular radio commentator, Katie Stam, the winner of the Miss America Pageant in 2009, Shawn Johnson, the gold medal winner in the Olympics, Dave Coz, musician, Paul Rodriguez, actor and comedian, Brooke White, the contestant of the “American Idol,” and the actress Vivica F. Cox.

This year, the contest was held between 53 participants taking pat from all the 50 states of the United States of America. There had been a surprise element in the contests this time, with the re-entry of the three states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. All three states had not taken part in the Miss America Pageant for the last fifty years. The crown for the winner was given away by Katie Stam, to Caressa Cameron, Miss Virginia.

While Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron was declared the winner of the Miss America Pageant 2010, the first runner up was Miss California Kristy Cavinder, and the second runner up was Nicole Blaszczyk, Miss Michigan. The winners in the swimsuit competitions were CC Barber, Miss Oregon, Miss New York Alyse Zwick, and Miss Puerto Rico Mimi Pabon. The winner in the Quality of Life category was Miss Oklahoma Taylor Treat. After the pageant had been aired, it was followed by a one hour special entitled “Miss America- Behind The Curtain.” The winner, Caressa Cameron, won a scholarship worth $50,000.