The Dollar Nightclub could be as good as bankrupt after allowing itself to be used as the set for a wild and controversial video shoot on Wednesday. It now seems some members of the Lansing City Council are hoping to nip the nightclub's liquor license in the bud come April.

City liquor officials say The Dollar Nightclub, 3411 E. Michigan Ave., failed to obtain the necessary topless-dancing permit to allow women to bare their breasts to cameras for a "Girls Gone Wild" event. The club also could be fined $300 for each patron who flashed their chest Wednesday night according to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.

Although The Dollar should face some adverse repercussions for trying to slip one by the city, liquor officials shouldn't get their panties in a bunch because of the situation and take the evening's events with a grain of salt.

After all, nightclub owners did manage to maintain sound control of what was expected to be a wild night by limiting the number of male and female tickets available for the event and keeping everyone without acceptable ID standing in the cold, including media and a handful of protesters.

Still, the nightclub's failure to adhere to city statutes should not go unpunished - reasonably. A fine of one lump sum would be a more appropriate discipline than $300 for each pair of breasts shown and a revoked liquor license when the city reviews its permits in April.

Taking away The Dollar Nightclub's liquor license for failure to request the proper permission to host a national event would be as unjust as banning wild girls from wearing leather booty pants and sequined halter tops - it's the nature of the beast.

The Dollar would be worth no more than a corroded penny if it were to lose its liquor license. Besides, closing The "Dirty D" would only serve to lessen the crowd quality at other nearby campus drinking establishments. Nobody wants that.

The bottom line is The Dollar did not promote itself as a topless-dancer bar on Wednesday night if not only for the fact that "Girls Gone Wild" events need to do little to promote themselves near a university town. In addition, the nightclub shouldn't be expected to control the shirts of all its patrons.

If The Dollar management did fail to notify the proper city officials for its event, it should be reprimanded accordingly. But drastic punishments should not be sought just because that event was unpopular.

In all reality, The Dollar Nightclub really isn't all that wild of a place compared to other near-campus drinking establishments on any given Mid-Michigan evening.

As for Dollar officials, it would be advisable that they go through the proper channels if they ever hope to host another wild evening.