THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Drew Tyler Bell (Thomas) is bowled over by the fact that he's finally legal.

"I'm 18 now, a big adult," smiles Bell, whose big day was Jan. 29. "I can vote and I'm supposed to register for the draft pretty soon. I haven't done either yet. I'm a little behind the eight ball, but I'll get it done."

Bell ushered in adulthood by throwing a birthday bash at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood. "It was a blast. We had over 100 people there. Kayla Ewell (Caitlin, B&B) showed up with some of her friends, and [so did B&B] office people, casting directors and crew. An old friend from Ohio flew two hours just to be at my party for three hours and then flew back to Ohio. It was a good turnout and we had fun. I saw so many people I hadn't seen in a while. I don't think I had a complete conversation with everybody, because I was running from person to person."

Which left little time for bowling. "I bowled about three frames," he chuckles. "I probably knocked down 20-something pins. Lucky Strike Lanes is a great place to have a party. Even if you're not a bowler, there's space to walk around and hang out. There's pool and they've got a bar/lounge area. A lot of people got to bowl though, because we rented out part of the alley. There was another kid's party there, too, so there were about 70 kids running around. It was kind of crazy. They were like, 'Wait a second, what are all these people doing with cameras?' I was like, 'Oh, soap press.' (laughs)"

And now to the important question: How did Bell make out when it came to gifts? "I got a lot of cool, different presents. A friend who works in the music business got me a live CD of the inductees that performed at last year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, which is really hard to come by. I think I got more money in gift certificates than I actually spent to put the party on."