The high and mighty plans of the Opium Group out of Miami to create and sustain a high-end club in the Mezmor Building space are officially dead. Mark Baker has left M2. I won't get into a he-said she-said debate on what happened. Mark told me "that the split was mutually agreed upon and that Joey Morrissey -- a friend for 20 years -- and myself still maintain a great relationship." Mark believes his run at Mansion, now M2, "has been a great success"; through impossible times the club has survived, and most felt that was impossible. But I suspect that surviving, although a noble ambition, is not what they had in mind a little more than a year ago. The big dreams of a circus-like atmosphere where the beautiful people celebrated the sweet sounds of success while popping bottles to the sweet sounds of world-class DJs proved fleeting. Yes, there were many moments where the Euro set had a blast, but downtown didn't understand it and mostly didn't come. The dream of a mixed bag of the best of every class in New York was never achieved.

Mark says he hasn't "looked at another opportunity for over a year ... Joey Morrisey has an incredible vision" for going forward with M2. He says that he may even do one-offs at the mega-club. Ever the gentleman, Mark will always say the right things . He took a deep breath and told me, "Everyone needs to know when it's time to move on." For Mark, moving on will begin with heading to Moscow to host the Russian Nightlife Awards. It's his second go at this; he'll also host a mega "I Love New York" event in the Russian capital. Then it's back to New York for the Hamptons season. He can't speak to which Hamptons venue will get him right now, but he'll let us know. Mark also told me that the long -waited return of Double Seven will indeed happen this September. The big story in his future is the collaboration with Jon B and Barry Mullineaux who are killing it over at Greenhouse. Mark brings his uber-high-end crowd to the emerging fabulous peeps at Jon's properties. I believe this collaboration is exactly what is needed for both parties. I'm sure there will be future openings based on this deal.

Finally, I would like to add that Mansion, M2, or whatever never lived up to the expectations I had for it either. However, it's still standing, and in these unprecedented times, that's an achievement. Unfortunately the business model for Mansion was in the European bottle crowd. When the economy bludgeoned that scene, Mansion was doomed to a lower-rent niche.