Behind the Velvet Rope of N.Y. Nightlife

N E W   Y O R K , Nov. 27, 2003 -- 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."

Who's More Beautiful?

No one caters to the rich crowd better than club diva Amy Sacco, owner of Bungalow 8.

Not only is it tough to get in — it's not even easy to find. The one sign out front says "No Vacancy." The number "8" is cleverly disguised as a doorknob.

Bungalow 8 is set up to look like a pool side cabana at the Beverly Hills hotel, but with a concierge menu. You can even order a helicopter if you feel the need.

"Isn't it fun to be sitting somewhere and you know just say, 'Let's get a helicopter or let's charter a plane and go down to Parrot Cay for the day'?" says Sacco.

One sure way in is to get invited to a private party. ABCNEWS was at a fund-raiser hosted by Nikki Hilton, one of the famous Hilton sisters.

At the fund-raiser, Hilton could be overheard talking to another socialite, Elisabeth Kieselstein-Cord. "You look so beautiful," said Hilton. "No, no, no. You look so beautiful," said Kieselstein-Cord. The beautiful people really do talk like that.

You might think these are spoiled rich kids, but Sacco says, "I have nothing against them being spoiled, and I spoil the heck out of myself constantly whenever I can, so why not?"

Life at the Buddha Table

Adam Hock, the CEO of a business consulting firm, seems to follow another rule we haven't mentioned: If you're a man, bring gorgeous women.

His night begins treating a dozen friends to dinner. Two hours and $550 later, he's off to a club called Lotus, and another invitation-only party for the TV program Fashion Television .

Hock doesn't worry about getting "in." Part of his business is entertaining, say, a client or a prospective client, and getting them to the VIP table. "I enjoy what I do and sometimes there is a business aspect to what I'm doing," he says.

Across town, at the restaurant Tao, Jason and friends are living it up themselves, at the "Buddha table" — the hardest table to reserve.

They order champagne at $300 a bottle. The tab nears $1,000, and no food has even arrived. When it does, it's plates of sushi and Kobe beef, a Japanese delicacy that costs $240 for 20 ounces.

Ignore the Pain, Relish the Pleasure

Jason admits that if he were running a tab in his head, thinking about how much he was spending, he would go home.

The total is $3,991.78 — but Jason's just warming up. He and his friends head to Pangaea, where they're ushered right in and again given the best table. There, you can't just get a drink — you have to pay for the whole bottle.

Jason orders a bottle of Grey Goose vodka, which costs less than $30 in the liquor store but is as much as $300 here. "Here what you are paying for is this show. A ticket to another world. It's a fantasy," he says.

And you can't just order one bottle. In the cheap seats, it's a $500 minimum. Where Jason is, you've got to spend at least $2,500 on liquor. It's like real estate — everything is location, location, location.

When Jason's bill arrives, it's $3,200. The final tab for the evening is a grand total of $7,930.78. Jason says it's the price he'll pay to get in. And by the way — he has to be back at work in three hours.