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USA Miss Universe the top finalists took the stage for the swimsuit portion of the pageant. See the final 10 contestants as they compete in the the 65th annual Miss Universe pageant, held on December 20, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.Miss Universe has been whittled down from 80 to 15 to 10 and finally five contestants including women representing the United States, France, Colombia. “Da 5 Bloods” film editor Adam Gough is based in London, while director Spike Lee is based in New York City, “so when I got the call it wasn’t something I was expecting at a. Miss Philippines Earth (2004-2017, 2019–present), originally titled 'Miss Philippines' (2001-2003) then 'Miss Earth Philippines' (2018), is a national beauty pageant held annually in search of the most beautiful and environmentally-conscious and aware woman in the Philippines.
Life is beautiful, so why not bet on beautiful! The Super Bowl of pageantry, the 67th Miss Universe Pageant, takes place on Monday, Dec. 17. This beautiful event is at Impact, Muang Thong Thani, in Bangkok, Thailand, and we will see the crown passed from last year's winner, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa.
Bangkok will soon welcome 95 of the world's most beautiful women. Which of the 95 will wear the crown? One thing that shocked me when I was researching Miss Universe is this year will have the highest number of contestants in Miss Universe history. Adding more women to this event makes putting odds up a bit more difficult, but as an entertainment oddsmaker I always love the challenge!
One of the biggest sportsbooks in the world, MyBookie, has posted odds on all 95 of the world's most beautiful women, and they have also posted three Miss Universe betting propositions. If you are looking at Miss Universe betting trends, you can't go wrong with betting on Miss Venezuela 35-1. Miss Venezuela has won this competition three times in the last 10 years, and in 2008 & 2009 Venezuela won back-to-back years. Last year Miss South Africa was the betting favorite at +250, but there was some controversy because some fellow contestants mentioned that she had some 'Special Relationships' with not one but two judges. So far this year has been quiet with controversy, so I see the winner have some outstanding betting odds.
2018 Miss Universe Betting Odds - MyBookie
- So we went to our first tie-breaking procedure, and because Jake correctly predicted that Philippines would take the title, he won the tie and the 2018 Miss Universe predictions competition. Puerto Rico was the most-predicted semi-finalists, appearing on 91 lists. Philippines appeared on 90 lists, followed by South Africa who appeared on 88 lists.
- (Pageant Predictions reserves the right to change the scoring procedure in the event that the Miss Universe Organization does not follow the top 15/10/5 format. For example, i f MUO cuts directly from a top 16 to a top five, each of the 11 semifinalists that do.
Miss Brazil +1000
Miss Canada +1000
Miss Colombia +1000
Miss Australia +1000
Miss Costa Rica +1300
Miss Vietnam +1500
Miss Thailand +2000
Miss USA +2000
Miss France +2300
Miss India +2500
Miss Jamaica +2500
Miss South Africa +2500
Miss Ireland +3000
Miss Mexico +3000
Miss Finland +3500
Miss Venezuela +3500
Miss Angola +4000
Miss Korea +4000
Miss Spain +4000
Miss Spain +4000
Miss Denmark +4500
Miss Lebanon +4500
Miss Germany +5000
Miss Great Britain +5000
Miss Israel +5000
Miss Italy +5000
Miss Ukraine +5000
Miss Georgia +6000
Miss Philippines +6000
Miss Sri Lanka +6000
Miss Sweden +6000
Miss Trinidad & Tobago +6000
Miss Iceland +6500
Miss Japan +6500
Miss U.S. Virgin Islands +6500
Miss China +7000
Miss Curacao +7000
Miss Dominican Republic +7000
Miss Puerto Rico +7500
More Miss Universe Odds over at MyBookie
2018 Miss Universe - Winner's Age
Over 23.5 -120
Under 23.5 -120
Who needs some Miss Universe free picks? Last year Miss South Africa was 23 years old when she won, but the two years prior a 26-year-old won and a 24-year-old. Tons of hype on Miss Russia Yulia Polyachikhina, who is an 18-year-old high school graduate. However, I don't see an 18-year-old winning this competition. Money will be flowing in on the 23-year-old Miss Thailand since she gets this event in her backyard, but just because you host the event doesn't give you the edge when it comes to the Miss Universe pageant. I believe the 'Over' 23.5 is the 'Best Bet' on the board, and it wouldn't shock me to see someone 25 years old taking the crown.
Miss Universe Winners List
2018 Miss Universe - Will Steve Harvey Announce the Wrong Winner Again?
Yes +4000
No -10000
2018 Miss Universe - Will a Miss Universe Contestant Fall Down during Competition?
Miss Universe All Winners
Yes +500
No -900
Raphael Esparza is one of the best handicappers in all sports. This weekend Esparza is excited that College Football and NFL is in full effect and Esparza has a NFL Football play going on Sunday (8-Unit NFL Total Game of the Year). The former Vegas oddsmaker will have will action this weekend in NFL Football, College Football, NBA, College Basketball, NHL, soccer, and don't forget he is looking for more fight winners in both Boxing and UFC. New clients can take advantage of Doc's no-hassle $60 free picks offer and get Esparza's weekday picks. Click here for $60 worth of free picks .
Read more articles by Raphael Esparza
Miss Universe 2017 Winner
The pearl of the Orient has captured a fourth Miss Universe crown thanks to Catriona Gray. The Philippines also won the Miss Universe title in 1969 thanks to Gloria Diaz, 1973 thanks to Margarita Moran and 2015 thanks to Pia Wurtzbach. There has been a rumor circulating that the colors of the Philippines flag were worn by the winners but that is false as both Gloria Diaz and Margarita Moran wore white gowns when they won Miss Universe, Pia Wurtzbach wore a blue gown and Catriona Gray wore a red gown so there hasn’t been a winner from the Philippines wearing a yellow gown…yet but we’ll see if that happens in the future! The gap between the wins of Gloria Diaz and Margarita Moran was only four years and it took another 42 years until Pia Wurtzbach won again but only three years later, Catriona Gray won another crown in Philippines. Other countries have won 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 years apart but never 3 so this is a first time for there to be a 3 year gap for a country to pull off another Miss Universe win. Pia Wurtzbach’s win was also affected by Steve Harvey’s notable error when he mistakenly proclaimed runner-up Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner only to correct his mistake two minutes later creating one of the most controversial events in Miss Universe history so it’s great that the Philippines got a proper win this time around.
This Gray Cat has two lives with the second being significantly more triumphant than the first! Cat’s first life was representing the Philippines at Miss World 2016 where she finished in the top 5 in a pageant won by Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Del Valle and her second life was a new opportunity to represent the Philippines where she would get that other renowned international crown and the title of Miss Universe 2018. She didn’t settle for the world when she could have the universe! A lot of people, including myself, felt that Catriona was robbed at Miss World 2016 after she aced her final question and answer even if Catriona’s look was suspiciously similar to that of Megan Young who won the 2013 Miss World title for the Philippines. When asked what qualities it would take to wear the Miss World crown, Catriona responded, “I think, first of all, it takes bravery. To be a Miss World is to carry a burning torch. It is an action carried out by one to illuminate the lives of many and I would dedicate my whole self, my love for the arts and my voice to trying to uplift, empower and educate people and it would be my greatest honor and duty to hold this torch high enough so that all the world could feel and see its light.” With the ability to answer several challenging questions with ease, Catriona has definitely been preparing for this moment for a long time. The universe was waiting to hear what Cat had to purr and this kitty gurl got her twirl! She wasn’t kitten around meow. Catriona also perfected her “Cat”walk skills and her walk has been named the lava walk and her gown was certainly reflective of that since it was a gradient of lava-colored tones mainly of red with hints of oranges, yellows and blacks adorned with crystals. The ear-cuff that Catriona wore was also a patriotic symbol as it is very similar to the sun and stars in the Filipino flag. Did you also notice Catriona Gray and Michelle McLean-Miss Universe 1992, who was also one of the judges for 2018, both placed in the top 5 at Miss World prior to winning the Miss Universe crown? Did you also notice that both Catriona and Michelle both wore a red gown with a high slit when they won their respective Miss Universe crowns as well? Red seems to be a popular color among Miss Universe winners. Other Miss Universe winners apart from Catriona and Michelle that wore red include: USA’s Chelsi Smith (1995), India’s Lara Dutta (2000), Venezuela’s Stefania Fernandez (2009), Mexico’s Ximena Navarrete (2010) and USA’s Olivia Culpo in 2012 although Olivia’s gown might be deemed dark pink in certain lights. As you can see, there were a lot of little details taken into consideration with producing this win. Other Miss Universe winners that experienced losses at Miss World prior to winning Miss Universe, aside from Catriona and Michelle, include: Lebanon’s Georgina Rizk (Miss Universe 1971 who was unplaced at Miss World 1970), Holland’s Angela Visser (Miss Universe 1989 who was unplaced at Miss World 1988), and Botswana’s Mpule Kwelagobe (Miss Universe 1999 who was unplaced at Miss World 1997).
Catriona, like many recent Filipina titleholders, is biracial. She has a Caucasian father, Ian Gray who is Australian (of Scottish descent) and Catriona was born and raised in Australia as an only child to both Ian and Catriona’s Filipina mother, Normita Ragas Magnayon. Passionate about the arts, Catriona’s achievements include earning a Certificate in Music Theory from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Catriona was also the lead singer of her school's jazz band and also performed in local productions of Miss Saigon. She even earned a black belt in Choi Kwang-Do martial arts and works as a commercial model in the Philippines. This is a very similar background to Miss Universe 2015, Pia Wurtzbach but Pia was born in Germany to her German father and Filipina mother.
Other interesting tidbits about this pageant include: that the last names of the top two delegates were colors (Gray for Philippines and Green for South Africa). Philippines prevented back to back wins for South Africa in 2018 just like they did for Colombia in 2015 which is similar to what USA did to India in 1995 and Venezuela in 1997! Are the Philippines becoming the new USA??? Venezuela is the only country to actually win two years in a row and it happened when they won in 2008 and 2009. All of this year’s top 3 countries had won earlier in this decade (Venezuela in 2013, Philippines in 2015 and South Africa in 2017). Did you notice that Philippines crowned South Africa Miss World 2014 but South Africa crowned Philippines Miss Universe 2018 so maybe China wins Miss Universe 2019 since they won Miss World 2012? Or does Puerto Rico win Miss Universe 2019 because every year after Miss Universe was held in Thailand, Puerto Rico won the next year (1993 and 2006). Also, since Philippines had a 4 year gap then a 3 year gap between Miss Universe wins then maybe Philippines next gap will be 2 years apart so maybe they win again in 2020? Also there seems to be a pattern tied with the Miss International pageant alternating winners. In 1979 and 2013, Philippines won Miss International and Venezuela won Miss Universe and in 2015 and 2018, Philippines won Miss Universe and Venezuela won Miss International! In fact, both Miss International 2018 and Miss Universe 2018 had Philippines, South Africa and Venezuela as their top 3 countries just in a different order. Thank yous go out to Paulo, Etienne, Wassim, Dave, Michael, Hernan and Diego for your contributions.
It was one night (or technically one morning) in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster! 2018 fulfilled the 13 year chain of Thailand serving as the host country as they did in 1992 and 2005 so naturally we expect the 2031 Miss Universe pageant to be held in Thailand! The productions in Thailand have always been spectacular and I thought they did a great job this year. The recent Miss Universe soundtrack had some remixes and alternations this year with the Thai xylophone called the ranat ek incorporated and some Thai Buddhist chants heard during the preliminary and national costume competitions. I liked how the opening showed some Thai dancers and instrumentalists along with Ne-Yo who opened the show with his song “Nights Like These” with the delegates walking on stage. The 2018 Miss Universe pageant had a record-breaking 94 contestants breaking the previous record of 92 set last year. 3 countries debuted this year: Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. It was originally supposed to be 95 contestants competing this year but interestingly enough, the delegate from Sierra Leone arrived late both this year and last year and missed registration and fittings and therefore could not compete. Marie Esther Bangura may represent Sierra Leone for the 2019 Miss Universe pageant instead assuming she arrives on time, of course… Steve Harvey returned for the fourth year of his five year contract so we will expect to see him hosting in 2019 and we’ll see if his contract gets extended and if he continues after that. His speech at the beginning which included describing his custom-made jacket with all the countries competing written on the inside was a little long and unnecessary. We want to see more of the delegates! Serving again as backstage commentators were: Ashley Graham, Carson Kressley and Lu Sierra who did a fine job. The stage design was also nice with the long X-shaped runway with graphics in the background. I’m glad they took the time to introduce the judges or selection committee as they are now called. In addition to having the most contestants ever, this pageant had another historic first as this is the first time in Miss Universe history that the judges were all female. The idea of the all-female judging panel was first implemented during the chaotic 2015 Miss USA pageant that almost got derailed due to a certain someone saying some controversial things but it wasn’t until 2018 that it happened at Miss Universe so IMG who has owned the Miss Universe pageant family since 2015 wants to be in step with the MeToo movement and is making pageants more feminist so this move didn’t really surprise me.
The 7 judges were: Porntip “Bui” Nakhirunkanok Simon-Miss Universe 1988 from Thailand (who also served as a judge in the 2005 pageant which was also held in Thailand), Michelle McLean Bailey-Miss Universe 1992 from Namibia (who I am glad got some recognition this time around as I mentioned in my 2005 commentary that she was not acknowledged even though you could see her sitting next to Miss Universe 1965, Thailand’s Apasra Hongsakula who surprisingly went unacknowledged during this year’s pageant but Apasra was shown in pictures when it was announced earlier this year that Thailand was this year’s host), Janaye Ingram-Miss New Jersey USA 2004, Iman Oubou, Lili Gil Valletta, and 2 Filipina judges: Monique Lhuillier, and Richelle Singson Michael… There was another change in the number of advancing delegates as there has been every year (2015 had a top 15, 2016 had a top 13, 2017 had a top 16 and 2018 had a top 20). There hasn’t been a narrowing down to a top 20 since 2006 which was the only other year that was done.
In terms of my predictions, I picked 10 of the top 20 plus 1 alternate (Ireland) and 1 honorable mention (Brazil). The 8 ladies that missed my list were: Costa Rica, Curaçao, Nepal, Belgium, Hungary, Indonesia, Jamaica and Poland. Costa Rica and Curaçao were mentioned in my next tier below honorable mentions. Surprises are always to be expected and there were quite a few but I was happy the actual top 5 ladies were all in my top 6. I originally had Vietnam in my top 5 but just dropped her to 6th place in my final predictions list and replaced her with Great Britain when I heard that Vietnam’s English was limited so I was very close to correctly picking the top 5 even if the order was little off. In terms of the U.S. ratings, Miss Universe pulled in 4.19 million viewers which is the second lowest rated in history just slightly below last year’s 4.4 million and above 2013’s 3.8 million. I think a lot of people have watch parties where several people gather at one house to watch together as I know that’s what I have been doing in recent years so I’m not sure how accurate these ratings measurements are. I still think it was held at the decent time as December seems to be a good time to hold the pageants since it is close to Christmas and the holiday season even though it was up against a football game on NBC and sports tend to dominate the ratings as they did on December 16. The 2012 and 2015 Miss Universe pageants were held in December and they had over 6 million viewers but even if pageants are losing viewers in the U.S., they are still extremely strong internationally. There was also no online voting this year so that also could have had an impact.