Playboy Mansion makes people sick, officially this time

Since the earliest days of the E3 Expo, countless tech boys attending conventions in L.A. have bussed through the gates of the Playboy Mansion hoping to catch a special sight they can embellish into a cool story when they get back home to the cubicle. Dozens of participants in this month's DOMAINFest conference really did catch something. The county Department of Health sent e-mail Friday to all attendees warning them that some partygoers have come down with a respiratory illness. It's now under investigation. Some of the symptoms suggest Legionellosis, or Pontiac fever, and at least some attendees suspect a fog machine that was used at the party. DOMAINFest was held in Santa Monica but the Feb. 3 closing event — a lingerie lounge party fundraiser hosted by Playmates Jennifer Walcott and Suzanne Stokes — was held at the Holmby Hills mansion, which is frequently opened to visiting conventioneers.

Blasts from the past: An LA Observed post giving the address of the Playboy Mansion on Charing Cross Road has been one of the most visited entries here since, oh, about 2003.

Satellite photo of the swimming pool and grotto at the Playboy Mansion, from Windows Live