Playing '21': clubs build buzz with young celeb customers, but it's risky.

PHOTOS of actress Lindsay Lohan partying hearty at L.A. nightclubs in recent months have been spectacularly splashed across celebrity magazines like People, US Weekly and In Touch.

LAX, Chateau Marmont, Guys and Hyde are just some of the local hotspots she's been sighted hanging out at. Of course, starlets making the fast lane club scene in the wee hours are Hollywood tradition; but she's just 20 years of age, supposedly too young to be in such clubs. Other underage celebs, like Mary Kate Olsen and Frankie Muniz, have been caught behind the velvet ropes by paparazzi, too.

The notoriety the exposure brings can cement a club's image nationally and internationally for years--an eternity in that realm--and translate into big money.

"I think that anywhere celebrities are--if they're of age, or if they're under-age--that's where everybody else wants to be," said Chris Breed, owner of Hollywood's Cabana Club and White Lotus.

However, club owners say that Hollywood vice cops read the same mags and go to the same Web sites that fans do. That gives them tips of places to bust, and the police have cracked down of late.

A number of owners say they've changed their ways by firing non-compliant staff and adding ID-scanning technology. Others say they've always towed the 21-year-old line. But clearly, some think it can be worth the risk to bring in under-aged celebrities.

"Whatever celebrities you have in your place and get into publication, it helps your name last longer in people's minds," said Breed, who launched the famed club Roxbury in the 1980s. "It may be a housewife who doesn't get out very often, but when she does, she'll remember this place was hot. And it may be three to four years old and may not be the hottest place anymore, but maybe she's coming in from Miami or London and has heard of it."

Still, Breed said letting underage celebs in isn't worth the risk. One of his clubs recently turned away under-age star Hillary Duff, he said.

"It's your license," he said. "That's what you make a living with. People put hundreds of thousands of dollars into it and they're willing to risk it all for letting in a name?"

The Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood vice detail declined to comment, but denied there has been any significant increase in the prosecution of underage drinking. However, they have taken a more high-profile approach to enforcement.

Regardless, their methods seem to be working. The Department Of Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted undercover operations in six Hollywood clubs earlier this month and found only one minor, aged 20 and six months with a very authentic-looking Missouri driver's license.

"We've seen increased compliance," said John Carr, spokesperson for the ABC. "Now we're going to continue to make visits and ensure compliance stays the way it is. The whole idea is to keep people safe."

Carr cited the 2004 stats for fatal car accidents that were alcohol-related. Of 1,462 deaths on California roadways, 680 were under 21.

There is now just one Hollywood club facing disciplinary action from the ABC. That's Club Mood, based on a one-time offense back in April.

Delicate balance

David Judaken, owner of Mood in Hollywood, says he's "paranoid" about keeping underage drinkers out of his establishment. Every member of the staff, waitresses, bartenders and security, are all kept on the lookout. If anyone sees an underage person who has managed to get through the door, they' re to be escorted out immediately.

Judaken said he's also seen an increased police presence at the nightspots, and not just uniformed officers.

"They're in the clubs, they're undercover," he said. "There are undercover operations all the time. They try to send in an underage person with a fake ID Or no ID at all and see if they gain admittance. There are raids that happen where uniformed officers enter and ID every person as they leave the venue making sure they are all over 21, so there are definitely scrutinizing that a lot more."

Judaken said the attention has caused many owners to pay more attention to the underage issue, but it's a delicate balance due to the nature of the business.

"I'm always trying to design a concept that appeals more to a crowd 25 and over," said Judaken. "But that's one of the problems with nightclubs, they attract a younger crowd."

Clubs are now using ID scanners, a device that checks the validity of the ID and saves the image and all the information to a database. This helps doormen to sniff out fakes, and helps clubs keep records of who's been to the club, their address and when their birthdays are.

Still, ID-checking is an inexact science.

"We've always had a scanner," Judaken said. "We've got a very rigid door policy where we will scan your ID to match someone's appearance. But there are so many excellent fake IDs out there that even when you're doing everything in your power to try to confirm that someone is over 21 there are still some people who can ultimately get through. I do think that if you're regimented about it, I think most people are getting stopped at the door."

Club owners note that their door people are, after all, human. People call in sick, sometimes they have to go to the bathroom--and a substitute who doesn't know which celebrities are under 21 is posted at the door to check IDs. Some fake IDs are nearly impossible to detect.

"Celebrities have fake IDs too," Judaken said. "And if you've got a different doorman, they're not all experts on the celebrity scene."

Still, Judaken said his club turns away celebrities "all the time," and tries to keep them from even coming to his club. When the reps of underage celebrities call in advance, they're told to stay away.

Drawing the line

A club doesn't have to tempt legal fate to be successful.

In 2005, music supervisor and Hollywood widow Amanda Scheer Demme re-created New York's famed Tropicana Bar next to the pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. From the night it opened it was jammed, but there were constant problems with the neighbors (noise and fights) and with the cops (customers under 21 and over-served).

In April, the hotel owners bought Demme out and dismissed her management staff. They implemented ID scanning technology and have turned the volume down. Since then, the Tropicana has gotten less publicity in the weekly glossies, but chief executive and co-owner Stephen Brandman said revenues are up 27 percent over last year.

"We look at it as good business in the long term," Brandman said of the Tropicana's no-nonsense policy. "So far there are enough celebrities and enough people out there that appreciate it. We're having a very big year so far."

EMILY BRYSON YORK Staff Reporter