Small update:
after 2 days of letting the glue dry, I was able to route off the extra laminate. I'm very happy with the results. (tip: for anyone who is dealing with laminate, it's a good idea to tape off the border so when you route off the sides you can avoid scratches). Panels under CPs were also laminated and trimmed.
Need some suggestions for artwork, Was thinking of putting player 1 characters like Mario, Billy Lee..., on one side and player 2 characters like Luigi, Jimmy Lee for player 2's CP. Not sold on the idea so I welcome any suggestions. Other ideas for art are just circling the buttons and adding arrows around the joysticks with a base color, and the last idea I had was to use those SF characters with the "Tron" theme as the art, figure the light up buttons would really bring out the characters.
Here are the pics. Let me know what you think.