Live From Planet Hollywood on TLC

LINWOOD, N.J., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- President and CEO of the Miss America Organization, Art McMaster, announced today that the 2010 Miss America Pageant will return to Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for a week of preliminary competitions, culminating in a live telecast on TLC, Saturday, January 30 at 8 p.m. EST. The announcement was made at a press conference in Puerto Rico to welcome back the Miss Puerto Rico Scholarship Program to the Miss America Pageant after nearly 50 years!



"We are thrilled to be returning to Planet Hollywood again for our 5th consecutive year," said Art McMaster, President & CEO of the Miss America Organization. "The 2009 Pageant exceeded our expectations, and we are continuing to build on new traditions in Las Vegas."



With the addition of Miss Puerto Rico competing this year, there will be 53 Miss America contestants sweeping into town in January to begin preliminary competitions in Interview, Lifestyle & Fitness, Talent and Evening Wear.

"We are so excited to have the most talented, smart and beautiful girls in the nation returning here to their home at Planet Hollywood," said Bill Feather, president of Planet Hollywood Worldwide Resorts. "The last four years have been wonderful experiences for not only Planet Hollywood, but for the city of Las Vegas, and the Miss America Pageant returning to our property gives us the opportunity to showcase our magnificent resort once again."



"The 2009 Miss America Pageant on TLC was a great success, taking the ratings crown as the most-watched program on cable," said Brent Zacky, Vice President of Development for TLC. "We look forward to working with the Miss America Organization and Planet Hollywood to make the 2010 broadcast event even bigger."



The three nights of preliminaries will take place on January 26, 27, and 28 at Planet Hollywood's Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets for the preliminaries, as well as the Miss America Pageant finals will be available to the public at www.ticketmaster.com starting in December.



Miss America has called Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino home since moving to Las Vegas from Atlantic City in 2006. Katie Stam, of Seymour, Indiana is the current Miss America.



The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. For more information, go to www.missamerica.org.

For information on Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, please visit www.planethollywood.com. For information on TLC, please visit http://tlc.discovery.com.

SOURCE Miss America Organization