By Emily Mitchell/Reported by Wendy Cole

After being crowned Miss USA, Carole Gist, 20, smiled beautifully. Then her predecessor, Gretchen Polhemus, weighed in with advice: Get a lawyer. Polhemus warned about "bad stuff" from her reign, including an inflexible schedule and thousands in cash and prizes not yet received. "Pageant officials have been up-front with me so far," says Gist, the former Miss Michigan. But she's nobody's fool. The new queen is consulting a financial adviser--and a lawyer as well. Winning isn't everything.