Many of us were a little taken aback when we saw photos of Lindsay Lohan’s Las Vegas Lost Weekend earlier this week. The photos show a young woman, allegedly celebrating her 23rd birthday, except that she looks the same age as her forty-something mother. These images of Lindsay should be used to educate young people on a host of subjects: this is what will happen to you if you take drugs, if you smoke, if you don’t take care of your skin, if you don’t eat properly, et cetera. Taken with Lindsay’s recent comments that she’s a “workaholic”, seeing Lindsay’s five-day pool party made it seem like she had definitely fallen off the wagon – if she was ever really on the wagon.

Earlier today I wrote about how Lindsay was going to have “a long drama-filled summer” and that her actual birthday (tomorrow) celebration would be some kind hedonistic orgy of drugs, liquor and Ronsons. I might have spoken too soon, if this report from Page Six has any credence. According to their sources, Lindsay’s Las Vegas thing was “work”. Lohan was paid $70,000 by the MGM Grand to host the pool party on Saturday. This might be true, but then Page Six does something naughty. They state as fact that Lohan “didn’t drink at the party”. Hm… but what did she smoke? But what did she snort? Answer that for me, Page Six. They also claim that Lohan is really bothered by those accusations she stole a bunch of jewelry, and that she’s going to be keeping her head down and enjoying “a small private party with friends in LA.”

LINDSAY Lohan’s 23rd birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but she’s already managed to profit off the day.

According to sources, the troubled starlet was paid a cool $70,000 by the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to host an all-day “pre-celebration” at the hotel’s Wet Republic pool party last Saturday.

At the event, which served as a promotion for her Sevyn Nine self-tanning mist, Lohan changed bathing suits five times before throwing on club gear and dancing to Michael Jackson songs for the rest of the night.

But friends of Lohan say the event was less of a celebration and more of an urgent attempt to pull in some cash. “None of her really close friends were there,” said our insider, who noted that ex-girlfriend Samantha Ronson was also missing from the festivities. “The only person who was even known was Brittny Gastineau.”

Lohan didn’t drink at the party and actually allowed her photo to be taken. She was also overheard saying she was still distraught from publicity over the disappearance of jewelry she’d modeled for a recent Elle Magazine photo shoot in London.

The hard-partying actress is planning to have “a small private party with friends in LA” tomorrow, according to our source — but her mom, Dina, and sister, Ali, have been asking her to come home to Long Island and spend her birthday with her family.

This wouldn’t be the first time Lohan has tried to make a buck off her birthday. She was scheduled to have her 21st bash in conjunction with Las Vegas nightclub Pure, but the party was canceled after Lohan checked into rehab. She also tried to find corporate sponsors for her 22nd birthday by setting up a Web site. A rep for MGM did not return a request for comment.

[From Page Six]

The biggest celebrities were Lindsay Lohan and Brittny Gastineau? That pool party must have sucked. Seventy thousand for that? Aren’t pool parties the kind of thing that don’t really need some kind of five-figure celebrity hostess? Can’t the hotel just pump some music into the pool area and start handing out the liquor? Bam! A pool party, just like that.

Here’s Lohan at her party this weekend. Images thanks to WENN.com and PR Photos.com.