Australia - IT'S tough to get a drink these days if you are a bling-loving bikie.
Bikies, already under fire from new get-tough laws, have been banned from 53 pubs, hotels, cocktail lounges and nightclubs stretching from Wollongong to The Entrance.
Not only are they not allowed into the bars if they are flaunting their leathers with gang colours, the strict licensing laws refuse them entry if they are wearing their trademark garish jewellery.
They love knuckleduster "1%" rings, flamboyant medallions hanging from thick gold chains and belt buckles the size of saucers depicting the club they belong to.
But if they want to raise a glass in any of the 53 drinking establishments, they have to dress down.
"No person wearing any form of clothing, jewellery or other accessory, displaying or indicating by form or wording, colour, logo, symbol or otherwise that they are members of or in any way associated with (named gangs) shall be allowed entry," licensing rules say.
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Only welcome if they turn up in civvies are the Bandidos, Black Uhlans, Coffin Cheaters, Commanchero, Finks, Fourth Reich, Gladiators, Gypsy Jokers, Highway 61, Life and Death, Lone Wolf, Mobshitters, Nomads, Odins Warriors, Outcasts, Outlaws, Phoenix, Rebels, Hells Angels, Scorpions and - in most cases - Notorious.
Members of Notorious are not on the banned list at at least two places - Parramatta's Bavarian Bier Cafe and the Malibu Night Club and Cocktail Bar at The Entrance - because the gang was not known to police, or even formed, in 2007 when those pubs had their licences changed.
Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke said when bikies gathered wearing their colours, they were intimidating and more prone to acts of violence.
"We have seen it happen," said Supt Cooke, NSW Police drug and alcohol co-ordination unit head.
"It is all about creating a safe environment in the premises."
He said in most cases police had no argument from the premises because it gave the licensee a rule to stand behind when refusing access to bikies in all their gear.
The centre of Parramatta was much safer since the pubs and local police agreed on an accord to change their licensing rules about two years ago, duty manager at the Roxy Hotel, Amanda Lolas, said.
"We haven't had bikies here for a long time," she said.
A similar plan is being considered for Kings Cross.
At the refurbished Lincoln Bar in the Cross, events manager Scott Fitzgerald said the licensing restriction had not affected business.
"We are trying to move for a certain clientele and they are not our target market," he said.
It is the licensee, not bikies who is fined for breaching the rules.
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