Playboy's Playmate Review

Cast your vote for the 2007 Playmate of the Year

Last year you decided that the stunning Kara Monaco was the Playmate with the best looks and the most intoxicating je ne sais quoi of the class of 2005. Now it is time to reacquaint yourself with 2006's 12 curvy contenders who hope to become Playmate of the Year. Thousands of hours were put into creating this collection of photography, with each girl bringing her own unique energy to the camera. So who will it be? The aspiring pop singer from Alabama? The well-engineered German import? How about the model with a master's in gerontology? One of these beauties will receive $100,000 and be showered with valuable prizes, most notably a blowout Playmate of the Year pictorial to appear in June. Go to playboy.com/pmoy and vote for your favorite girl. Or send a text message widi the two-digit code that appears under your pick's pic to plboy (75269) and, for a $1.99 charge, receive a wallpaper for your phone.*

PICK YOUR FAVORITE PLAYMATE AT PLAYBOY.COM/PMOY.

STEPHANIE LARIIHORE

Not until 2006 did a Miss June become Playmate of the Year, and Stephanie is relieved the June jinx has ended. Now she's hoping for a streak. "Let's keep the tradition going," she says, "and vote for Miss June two years in a row!" Stephanie recently moved from Indiana to Washington, D.C, where she is taking in the sights ("I just visited the White House. I'm such a tourist") and loving the attention she gets from fans. "It's very flattering, so I always reply to all my fan mail," she says. What's in the future for this gorgeous brunette? "Expect to see me at more Playboy events because I'm very ambitious. I want to get out there and do as much as I can."

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Whether or not Miss February gets your vote for Playmate of the Year, be sure to support her on the reality show Bombshell. "It's like America's Next Top Model. People watch and vote for the winner," she says. "The camera crew fol­lowed me around to my playboy issue release party and to Puerto Rico, where I was scuba diving. I did more dives for the show Playing in Paradise. I got to hug and kiss dolphins, which was totally cool." Now Cassandra is prepping for the Lingerie Bowl (on pay-per-view during the Super Bowl halftime) and shimmying into her Bunny outfit for other Playboy events. "I'm dedicated to the magazine," she says. "I hope I get a chance to prove myself!"

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Beautiful Holley is making a pop record,

but those waiting to hear if Miss April

sounds as good as she looks will have

to be patient. She promises the wait will

be worth it. "I've been writing songs

and working on everything, so slowly

but surely the album is coming along,"

she says. "1 recently left Los Angeles

and am living in San Antonio. I drive

back and forth between there, L.A. and

back home in Alabama." After the bags

of mail that arrived praising Holley's

pictorial [readers loved the sudsy shot

of her washing a vintage muscle car in

the nude), we're thinking this luscious

blonde has a good chance to become

the 2007 Playmate of the Year.

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KIA IIRAYTi

Miss December says she is not the typical Southern woman—but you knew that when you met her last month. "I have a lot of qualities guys can relate to and gravitate toward," she says. "I'm the cool chick they can hang out with." As for the newfound fame her pictorial has brought, Kia says she loves the spot­light. "Fans write me letters and I always respond." And those fans aren't just men, either. "On MySpace I get so many messages from girls, saying, 'I'm so glad you're an African American female and you're out there representing us in a positive light.' It lifts my spirits and makes me feel good to know that people enjoy what I'm doing and support me."

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SARA JEAN MIDHNHOD

After appearing on the October 2005 cover, becoming Miss July and guesting on The Girls Next Door, fresh-faced Sara has been hit with a sudden dose of star­dom. The Oregon native, however, is still as sweet as she looks. "I like the genuine­ness of shy guys," she says. Of course, not too shy. Although she has become quite recognizable, "no one comes up and says hi in everyday situations. I was hoping maybe one guy would throw me a bone!" We'll dodge that metaphor and simply say Sara has taken time off from school to devote to Playboy, so show her some love. "I have four classes left, and I can taste my degree," she says, "but I just couldn't pass up this opportunity."

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Jordan is a junior studying family science in Nebraska. Since she became Miss October 2006, she's noticed her classmates now approach her for more than just lecture notes. "I saw the difference at the first football game after my issue came out," she says. "Guys came over and took me by the hand to pose for pictures. It is flattering. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to meet a lot of the other Playmates because I'm so far away from Los Angeles." So what would she do with the $100,000 prize money? "I just want to graduate and pay off my loans. Then I'd do something fun." Sounds like a plan.

ALISON WWW.

Miss May never realized how many friends she had on campus at San Diego State until she appeared on the cover of playboy. "Friends I didn't even know I had came out of the woodwork," she laughs. "I think people were really excited that San Diego had been put on the map for being not just a party school but a fun, cool place to attend college." Alison has since graduated with her master's in gerontology and cur­rently rooms at the Playmate House. "It's such a prestigious honor to be on the cover and to be a Centerfold as well," she says, her hazel eyes twinkling. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I never imagined for myself. I lucked out."

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Miss August has been working for Playboy full-time, traveling to such places as Chicago, Colorado, Las Vegas and her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida to represent the magazine. "Each pro­motional trip I take is still really exciting. It's a new experience every time," she says. Nicole wants to stay in Athens, Georgia—"The local newspaper ran a nice article on me when my issue came out, so now we have a lot more playboy subscribers in the area"—but she is considering a part-time pad in the City of Angels. Who knows? We may see her on the silver screen sometime soon. "I definitely have the Hollywood bug now," she says.

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As exciting as it was for Monica to become Miss March, she got even more attention after filling out the golden swimsuit for our August cover story on the bikini's 60th anniversary. "Everybody loved that cover, and I feel flattered and honored when strangers ask to have their picture taken with me," the Long Island native says. "Now I'm a full-time Playboy-aholic." To get her fix Monica has moved to the Mansion for a few months to try to jump-start her singing and acting career. "This is the only shot I'll ever get to do it," she says. "I worked as an extra on Spider-Man 3 and CSI: Miami. They were small parts, but I almost have my SAG card. One more and it's mine!"

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There is something magical about Miss January's silky platinum hair and luscious smile. Her pictorial attracted plenty of attention, and since then Athena has dis­covered an unexpected perk of being a Playmate. "I walked into an AmPm store, and everybody knew me," she says, that sexy smile beaming. "I even got free gas! I feel special." Athena is now fired up about tackling the competition in the Lingerie Bowl. "I may look sweet, but I'll do anything," she says. "I went on Fear Factor Live at Universal Studios and dangled from four stories, grabbed flags out of an eel tank and even drank blended bugs. It was such a rush. The only thing I cared about was winning."

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Let's dispel any notion that Playmate of the Year is a catty competition. Hear Miss November's thoughts on the subject "Everybody from the Playmates to Heft girlfriends has been so welcoming," she says. "I may be back home in Panama City, Florida, but I've honestly put everything aside for Playboy and am waiting to see what happens. I didn't tell anyone I was in the November issue because I wanted it to be a complete surprise. And was it ever! I'm a people person, so I'm anxious to have fans and be able to respond to as many as 1 can." We find sultry Sarah to be utterly intoxi­cating, body and soul. Will she be our next Playmate of the Year? Stay tuned.

Following her photo shoot, Miss Sep­tember left her home in Berlin to live in the States for a year. "I missed Hef, the girls and all the Playmates so much," she says. "I want to learn more English, and it helps me a lot to speak with Holly, Bridget and Kendra. They are now like my second family." Janine says the reaction in her home country has been more than enthusiastic, and the German press asks her everything about life at the Mansion. "It was my dream to be a Playmate in the USA," she says. We're glad we could accommodate her— Janine is a bit of a dream herself. As for the Playmate of the Year competition, we think she has the right attitude: "I wish all the 2006 Centerfolds could win!"