Rookie mistake.
I scheduled the last flight from DEN to LAX on Monday night, Memorial Day. What made me think that it would be even close to on time. . .
Two hour delay in Denver and a 'slow' landing in LAX got us to the gate at 12:40a.  Our flight to Hong Kong was scheduled to depart at 1:40a.  Although we had checked in online, we still needed to present our passports and boarding passes for doc check at least 30 minutes prior to departure.
Well, our plane landed and I grabbed our bags and made a run to the front of the plane (from row 19!). We got stuck behind some 'Sunday fliers' who took their sweet old time, and we didn't step off the plane until after 12:50a.
Now here's the catch - we are traveling to SouthEast Asia for 3 weeks with only carry-on size bags. Thank goodness!
Bags on our backs, we made a run for it.  Travel Boy couldn't carry his bag, as he had just awoken from a dead sleep, so I had my bag and his bag.  Travel Gal took a fall in the terminal and struggled with her bag, so at one point, I had all three bags and was in full trot mode.
We ran all the way from our Gate at the far end of Terminal 6 all the way to the Tom Bradley International Terminal.  The sliding doors to the Terminal opened at 1:03a. And we found it to be . . . completely deserted. I mean, not a soul anywhere.
We ran to security and were swept through (they must have witnessed the look of desperation on our faces).  A sprint to the Cathay Pacific Gate got us there at 1:09a, or as the incredibly nice and polite Gate Agent said, "Just in time!".  We settled into our seats, sweaty and stressed, but so pleased that we made it.  Nothing like extreme stress immediately before boarding a 14 1/2 hour flight.  Believe it or not, the flight departed a few minutes EARLY.
Now, friends and family have been telling us that traveling to SE Asia for 3 weeks with only carry-on bags is ridiculous. Our response: checked bags are for suckers.