Nightclub impresario and chess champ Noah Tepperberg puts down his BlackBerry for long enough to mince words with Portfolio’s Lloyd Grove, who’s gone from reporting on the antics of celebrity life in short form to reporting on the antics of celebrity life in long form.

Tepperberg, seen here with biz partner Jason Strauss and an unidentified blonde, is, of course, the co-owner of Marquee and a lead at Strategic Group, the special events and marketing giant that’s also in the business of celebrity wrangling. (He was also featured in Bar Mitzvah Disco.)

The common masses will blame him for what nightlife has become: velvet ropes and bottle service (just banned in Boston!). The privileged set will celebrate him, also, for what nightlife has become: more exclusive, more parties. And for the uninitiated, he will explain the difference — why there is still a line down the street to get into Marquee, and why you’re probably standing in it instead of inside, on a banquette.

L.G.: So let me just get you on this whole fascinating notion of the velvet rope and the exclusionary aspect. Because when you started out, you were very inclusive. Because it was all your friends, and bringing people along, and come one, come all. But now, they’re lined up in front of Marquee, for instance. And there are people that aren’t permitted in by your door people. What’s that all about? I’m talking about people who have money to burn. Sometimes they’re not allowed in. Tell me what that’s about. Explain that process to me.

N.T.: Let me put it into this context: Marquee is a product. It’s a brand. Just like artists will make things in limited quantities or any apparel designer will make limited-edition items. It creates demand. Not everybody can get it or buy it. And that creates a demand for the product. There is a premium paid for those products once the demand is there. So with regard to the nightclubs, sometimes having a tough door policy helps create the demand for the club. It’s a premium product that has demand for it. And part of what you’re able to do, if you have a premium product, is charge more money. So by having a tough door policy, making it not so easy to get into the club, it allows us to charge more money for people who do get in. And then it has created demand for people who will now wait on line or pay a premium to get in.

L.G: People who are influential, powerful, famous, generally have no trouble getting in. And people who are good-looking, like a good-looking young lady, will probably have no trouble getting in. But regular people from some suburb might have a great deal of trouble. What is that calculus all about? Is it the same thing?

N.T.: I mean, it is, again, the same theory of why do people pay more money for front-row seats?

L.G.: That’s fascinating to me, how you arrive at kind of the proper balance. It’s different from other premium products. I mean, if I have sufficient funds, I can go buy a Van Gogh. And no one’s going to deny me the right to spend tens of millions of dollars on a famous painting, if it’s for sale. But with nightclubs-and not just yours but just in general—I can flash a wad of bills, and I can be told by the guy at the door to go rent movies at Blockbuster.

N.T.: Well, it’s not all about the money. It’s also about having the right mix of people and the right balance of people. That’s how we operate our business. The doorman’s job is to ensure that there’s the right balance of people inside the nightclub. The doorman has been trained. [Marquee doorman] Wass has been doing the door for about 15 years. He’s been in the business for a long time. And he knows how to judge the room. He’s updated on the cliques, how many people are inside, how many men, how many women. It’s important to have a good ratio: 60-40, women to men, is a good ratio.

L.G.: Otherwise, it starts getting a little too competitive on the women’s side? Or puts out a weird vibe?

N.T.: I just think that people have the most fun when it’s at that proportion.

L.G.: Okay. And Paris Hilton is always getting in. She always adds a little something?

N.T.: Paris always gets in.

L.G.: But not necessarily Brandon Davis?

N.T.: Nope, Brandon gets in too. [Portfolio]