“I’m not shaky, I’m not looking out the window,” he said. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to do — arranging the girls, checking in on staff — like it’s a real business.”

His business model is simple. Men pay a cover charge at the door, usually $40. Women have to pay a $60 tip to the house by the end of the night, but keep the proceeds from lap dances. If they agree to take a man to a private area, they keep two-thirds of what is essentially a rental fee for the space — $200 for every 20 minutes. The women keep 100 percent of whatever they charge for services rendered behind the curtains.

In the hours before the club opens, Tony is glued to one of his smartphones, making sure that everyone on his list of more than 3,000 men knows that the party is on and that enough women will come.

“It’s ridiculous stress,” he said. “Your heart’s pumping. Where the girls at? Where the guys at? Are we going to make enough to break even?”

On a good night, 50 to 100 men show up, and 30 to 40 women.

When it is crowded, the women approach men with a soft touch on the arm or by asking, “Have you been here before?” Others make coy glances from across the room. The men approach, too, sidling up to women whom they like or have met before.

Tony said he relied on word of mouth to recruit new women. Some are professional strippers. Others, including a small number of college students, have less experience. “A lot of girls are scared because they don’t want anybody to know about it,” he said. “I let them know it’s underground. We can be discreet. I let them know they won’t get in trouble. They don’t want anything to do with the police.”

Tony said he did not force women to do anything they did not want to do; he estimated that slightly less than half of them accepted money for sex. “I let them know all the time: What happens in the room is between you and the guy,” he said. “There’s nothing required, so don’t ever let the guy tell you that. Everything is cool.”