Commission issued a record $5 million fine against MGM Mirage. CEO Terry Lanni considered it the most embarrassing incident in the gaming industry during his 26-year career. Two other ex-employees sued the company, alleging wrongful termination in the case. Design and plant life The Mirage was designed by Joel Bergman, who led Wynn's design firm Atlandia. The firm also included interior designers Henry Conversano and Roger Thomas, and architect DeRuyter Butler. Don Brinkerhoff and his landscape company, Lifescapes International, also worked on the resort. In addition to his team, Wynn also took design suggestions from his wife Elaine. The team was heavily involved in every design aspect of the project, which underwent numerous revisions, particularly in relation to its hotel tower. Wynn's team did extensive studies of several local resorts – Bally's, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Flamingo, and the adjacent Caesars Palace – and sought to combine their best features into one property. Unlike other casinos at the time, the Mirage's pedestrian entrances were built back away from the Las Vegas Strip, with the volcano serving as an attraction to pique the interest of pedestrians and lure them inside. This was done at the suggestion of Elaine Wynn: "Steve wanted to build the Mirage right off the sidewalk, and I said that we had to push it back, that people wouldn't get the benefit of the architectural design if they didn't have a frame of reference". Wynn had the property layout designed for convenience to guests, allowing them to quickly access amenities. The Mirage has a South Seas/Polynesian theme. Wynn said, "There had been a terrible sameness to the properties of Las Vegas. The public couldn't differentiate between the Sands, the Dunes, the Aladdin, the Sahara. I wanted to take it to a new level". Describing his vision, Wynn said, "Think of the harsh Southern Nevada desert, and then you see a waterfall, something out of the South Pacific or the island of Kauai. It's not supposed to be there, and that was the intention". He was partly inspired by the 1958 film South Pacific. The volcano and waterfall features were added as a contrast to the city's usual neon lights. Wynn said, "I'm burned out on neon. I think it's cheap. To me, neon is yesterday Las Vegas". Upon its opening, the exterior included 10 acres of landscaped lawns and pools, featuring 1,000 palm trees and 40,000 scrubs.