( CNN ) -- Miss California Alyssa Campanella bested 51 other contestants Sunday night to win the Miss USA crown in Las Vegas . Campanella wore a green flared dress for the evening gown competition and answered a question from judge and OPI co-founder Suzi Weiss-Fischmann during the interview segment about the legalization of medical marijuana . Campanella , 21 , said she was uncomfortable with the idea , but believed marijuana was medically beneficial . Campanella will represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant in September . The 60th Annual Miss USA Pageant took place at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino . It was hosted by Andy Cohen , host of Bravo 's `` Watch What Happens : Live '' and Giuliana Rancic , co-anchor of `` E ! News . '' They were joined by Kellie Osbourne , daughter of Ozzy Osbourne and co-star of `` The Osbournes , '' and Susie Castillo , who was Miss USA in 2003 . The audience was packed with former winners from years past , going back to 1953 . Each had a sash with the year of their win and waved enthusiastically when a camera panned past . New technology allowed fans to rate contestants in real time as the competition unfolded on television . Fan ratings did n't count toward contestants scores , but fans were able to watch preliminary contests online and help vote their favorites into the semifinals . From there , however , the judges took over . In addition to Weiss-Fischmann , the panel included actress Mariel Hemingway , rapper and producer Lil Jon , 2011 NBA champion and Dallas Maverick Tyson Chandler , celebrity chef Rocco DiSpiroto and Penn Jillette of the comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller . Other finalists in the competition included Miss Tennessee , Ashley Elizabeth Durham ; Miss Alabama , Madeline Mitchell ; and Miss Texas , Ana Christina Rodriguez . Campanella succeeds Rima Fakih , the first Arab-American and Muslim to wear the crown . Fakih repeatedly faced questions about her ethnic and religious identity . There was also controversy over pictures of Fakih dancing around a stripper 's pole that emerged shortly after she won her crown , but Fakih has said the photos were taken during a radio station competition and no clothes were removed .
The California contestant beat 21 other women to win the crown . Fans were able to participate and help choose semifinalists . California succeeds Mariel Hemingway , the 60th Miss USA who is Arab-American and Arab-American .