Behind the Velvet Rope of N.Y. Nightlife

N E W   Y O R K , Nov. 27 -- Behind the velvet ropes that guard New York's exclusive nightclubs lies another world full of beautiful people who spend in one night what some people make in a year.

"I have people that come in here that have $15,000 bar tabs. I kid you not," says Michael Ault, owner of the club Pangaea, which New York magazine calls one of the "hottest new additions to nightlife" in the city.

It's a world where the rules are unspoken, where all that matters is getting "in." It's a world where people like 31-year-old Jason play.

Jason's father founded a company that made millions selling women's sweaters. Now he and his brother help run the company — and enjoy the fortune.

"I'm single. I appreciate everything. I'm living life to the fullest," says Jason.

If you want to party with his elite crowd, Jason — who asked ABCNEWS not to use his last name — volunteered to show how it's done.

Three Rules for Partying Hearty

Jason starts the night by choosing a $400 designer shirt to go with one of his many $1,500 suits. He gets in his $100,000 Mercedes, driven by a chauffeur.

At the club, the first rule for getting in: Don't lie about knowing the doorman.

"The best is when they ask for me and I'm standing right in front of them. 'Oh yeah, we grew up together, went to the same high school,' " says a doorman who goes by the name Wass.

Lesson No. 2: Black is in — black clothes, black cars. Do not show up in a white limo. "It's kind of cheesy. It's kind of gauche," says Wass.

No. 3: No sandals in winter. Some club-goers often arrive at the velvet rope "in a skimpy little napkin of a skirt with these strappy heels," Wass recalls. "We will make them wait just on spite."

If everyone could get in, no one would want to come, Wass says. "People want what they can't have."