For New Year’s Eve party planners, a famous name will do

Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006 | 7:03 a.m.

Want to spend New Year's Eve with actual famous person Britney Spears?

All you need to do is get into Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace.

And who knows? She could be missing bits of clothing that her mother probably warned her would be very embarrassing to be without if she got hit by a bus. And you could be separated by just dozens of yards and hundreds of people and a bunch of security guards, hoping a bus will hit her.

Unfortunately for you, the odds of a bus getting into Pure on New Year's Eve are very low. Yours, too, unless you already have a ticket, a famous name or a firehose that sprays money (for preference, all three). But you could still stand outside the club where Britney is partying with a couple of thousand people and worrying if a bus could sneak past the bouncers.

So, OK, you're out of luck there. And probably also at Tao in the Venetian, where sex symbol to faux Kazakhs and unemployed actress Pamela Anderson will be hosting. Ditto for across the street at Jet in the Mirage, where her recently ex'ed ex-husband Kid Rock will do the same and more (he vows to DJ). It's likely the same story at Tangerine in Treasure Island, which will have Dave Navarro and Grand Master Flash.

Well, you could always try Coyote Ugly in New York-New York. It's got Jenn from "The Real World: Denver."

If you do get in somewhere, it's not just the bouncers and the fame that will separate you from the celebrity. It's that you almost certainly paid to get in, while the famous person will almost certainly have been paid by the club.

It's worth it for the clubs. Think pictures, buzz, maybe scandal if it's a good night. Those mean future crowds, people who will show up on the chance that a famous person might be in the club hiding from buses.

What are the best kind of celebrities to get?

"Girls. Big-breasted ones," says Jack Colton.

Colton, 24, is a former nightclub marketing director who operates a Web site telling people how to club like he does. He goes to about four a night.

Colton estimates a premium nightclub celebrity - "a Britney or a Paris" - charges $40,000-$50,000 most weekends and $75,000-$100,000 on holidays. Reality television stars, he says, come in the $3,000-$5,000 range. Representatives for the three nightclub companies hosting celebrities this New Year's Eve would not comment on how much their celebrities are being paid. But in some ways, it's not about the money, says Steve Lockwood, marketing director for Jet. It's a more existential need.

"Celebrities need to be celebrities," Lockwood says.

Meaning, they want pampering and publicity. Being adored keeps them famous, reminds them that they are famous.

A host contract requires celebrities to, a) show up; b) have pictures taken; and c) not leave for another club, says Mike Snedegar, marketing director for Tao. He says he's quite confident Pamela Anderson will be able to perform her duties and enjoy herself.

"It's going to be a fun night for her," Snedegar said. "This only affirms her status as a worldwide star."