Miss America pageant will return to A.C.

ATLANTIC CITY - There she is, Miss America, headed back to Atlantic City.

The Miss America Pageant, a staple in Atlantic City for decades before it was moved to Las Vegas in 2006, is making a return, Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Gov. Christie, confirmed Wednesday. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was scheduled to make a formal announcement Thursday at Boardwalk Hall.

Many details remained unclear, including whether the pageant would again become the elaborate show it was for decades at Boardwalk Hall or would continue as more of the reality show it became in Las Vegas. Also unknown was how it would be telecast and whether its return would be permanent.

The pageant started as little more than a bathing-suit revue. It broke viewership records in its heyday and bills itself as one of the world's largest scholarship programs for women. Like other pageants, it has struggled to stay relevant as national attitudes regarding women have changed.

The news was a surprise to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which sponsored the pageant on the Strip in January. In a subsequent statement, spokeswoman Courtney Fitzgerald said the tourism organization wished the pageant well in its new home.

"Las Vegas is honored to have hosted the Miss America Pageant for the past seven years," she said. "We understand that moving the televised event to various cities showcases America's diverse destinations which represent our great country."

Pageant officials did not immediately respond to after-hours phone and e-mail messages seeking comment Wednesday.

According to the Miss America Organization's website, the contest originated in 1920 as the Fall Frolic, which became the Inter-City Beauty Contest the following year. In 1921, a high school junior named Margaret Gorman was one of approximately 1,000 entrants in a photo contest held by the Washington Herald. She was chosen as the first Miss Washington, D.C., and her prize was a trip to Atlantic City, where she won the top prize, the Golden Mermaid Trophy.

The next year, Gorman was expected to defend her title. But when the Herald selected a new Miss Washington, Atlantic City pageant officials did not know what to call Gorman. Since both titles she won in 1921 - Inter-City Beauty, Amateur, and Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America - were somewhat awkward, it was decided to call her Miss America.