Laura was crowned Miss America Saturday night at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kaeppeler, 23, beat out 53 other contestants and takes over the crown from Teresa Scanlan, who, as a then-17 year-old Miss Nebraska, became the youngest woman ever to win the pageant, in 2011.
Teresa Scanlan, a Nebraskan who won Miss America last year at age 17 to become the pageant's youngest winner ever, said contestants nerves will likely be at their highest point just before the pageant.
But the young women have already given judges a first impression, she said, and largely shaped their fate through three nights of preliminary competitions at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

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