Some wacky Harvard Business School kids decided to write up a case study on undead Chelsea celebuclub Marquee, probably so they could get past the doorman. They found out Marquee's profit:

And for anyone thinking they can make a killing in the nightlife business, there's one number you should know: Even a club as successful as Marquee cleared just $2.4 million in profit in 2007. Try living on that after you've split it among all your bellyaching investors.

Regular street urchins, they are! Anyhow you can expect that figure to be wayyyyyyyyyy lower these days. Marquee's winning strategy, according to Harvard:

The secret is: Be selective about whom you let past the velvet rope, limiting the "filler" in favor of the hip, with just enough bankers to make a profit but not to make the crowd too square.

I believe the nightlife success formula now is "Be a front for illicit money-laundering," but I'm not sure. At least bankers will never stop throwing money around! [NYP]