Do they run the message queue on the same box as the gateway server in production? If not then the test he ran isn't a direct comparison (since network latency between the app server & queue isn't accounted for). Running both of those services on the same box isn't great either, since they could slow each other down, and you lose both if the box dies.

Still, very cool, congrats ankrgyl, it's awesome to be able to write stuff like that as an intern!