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LAS VEGAS — Pete Wentz surveyed the packed dance floor at LAX late Friday night from his perch in the club’s DJ booth, cocked his newsboy cap and gave the following assessment of the soiree unfolding around him:

“I flew in here at 5:30 in the morning. I feel like I want to die.”

A glowing endorsement indeed! But we can only assume he was joking, especially since he was surrounded by his closest friends and lording over the very popping, very exclusive (even the bathrooms had doormen) party for his label, Decaydance, at the famous L.A. nightclub’s new Vegas branch, which opened just last weekend in the Luxor hotel and casino. It was difficult to imagine any reason why he wouldn’t be having a very good time.

Even on the off-chance that he wasn’t, well, he was the only one. Joined on the decks by Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy, the duo pumped out spools of party jams, be they old — Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” — or new, like Soulja Boy’s “Crank That,” the Shop Boyz’s “Party Like a Rockstar” or the bumping remix of FOB’s “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” while partygoers shook it like crazy and tried with all their might to gain access to the VIP area.

Partying it up with Wentz and McCoy was a who’s-who of their burgeoning empire: Panic! at the Disco’s Ryan Ross wore a truly excellent headband and held court in a cushy booth. Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta complained a bit about his flight difficulties but still pledged to party it up big time. FOB drummer Andrew Hurley strutted from table to table, and the band’s ever-present sidekick, Dirty, bounded around the place. It was like a good old-fashioned family get-together, but with way more Lil Wayne being played.

Midway through the party (which was probably sometime around 2 a.m.), Wentz disappeared, but the remainder of the Decaydance crew held strong, pumping the jams and downing a whole lot of free booze. The only low point of the night seemed to be when LAX’s ultra-tight security snared a couple of Panic members in their nets. Seems they weren’t old enough to get in (Ross just turned 21, so he was good).

That’s the price you gotta pay when you head an ever-expanding posse of teenagers … especially when they want to party like grown-ups. And though some of Panic were left out in the cold, their brethren managed to boldly carry on without them.