Paris’ beau may have been under the limit

Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006 | 8:30 a.m.

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton's New Year's Eve revelry may have landed two Las Vegas nightclubs in hot water.

Clark County officials are investigating reports that Tao at the Venetian and Body English at Hard Rock Hotel both allowed Hilton's underage boyfriend, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III, into the clubs, county spokesman Erik Pappa said after it was reported Friday on the television program "In Business Las Vegas."

Liquor and gaming regulations forbid anyone under 21 from entering the nightclubs. No one from the Business License Division was available for comment Friday.

Hilton, 24, was the celebrity host at Tao on New Year's Eve, and reportedly counted in the New Year in the club's restaurant because Niarchos, 20, wasn't allowed into the club. But club goers also alleged that the pair sneaked in after midnight.

The couple was then allegedly seen at Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel, but were later denied access to Pure at Caesars Palace, where Hilton's sister Nicky was celebrating, a Pure publicist confirmed. The Hilton sisters complained when the club wouldn't let Niarchos in, but later came back and apologized.

Tao publicist Maggie Feldman, with Kirvin Doak Communications, said she could not comment on the county's investigation or on Niarchos' alleged presence in the club.

Hard Rock President Kevin Kelley told "In Business," aired on Las Vegas ONE, Cox Cable channel 19, that the Body English club was cooperating with the county and conducting its own internal investigation. But Kelley also said intense competition among club promoters and the almost weekly visits from young celebrities with large entourages is making it increasingly difficult to sift out underage patrons.

Body English club promoter Jack Lafleur said he never saw Hilton or Niarchos in the club and said club employees are very careful about checking identification. There are no exceptions made for celebrities, Lafleur said.

"It's a pretty hard-and-fast rule set forth by both gaming and the liquor board, that anyone under 21 is not allowed in any gaming or bar/nightclub venues where alcohol is being served," Lafleur said.

Underage celebrities, including at one time Nicky Hilton and Avril Lavigne, do try to get in, Lafleur said, but the exposure risk is enough to deter a club from letting them in. A photo of a underage celebrity drinking in a club would be undeniable proof.

"It's great publicity, but because there is so much more at stake, such as losing your gaming license, it's nothing we want to come close to jeopardizing," Lafleur said.

Hilton's publicists did not returns requests for comment.