http/www.xoticpc.com/asus-g750jwdb71-p-5788.html This is 1350$ which is a bit over your budget, rocks a 765M graphics card, 4th gen. i7, is relatively thin compared to most other gaming laptops, and mainly, it stays cool! Asus G series laptops have incredible cooling. It also looks stunning, and if you're ready to spend some extra cash, xotic pc can do some great custom work.
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8235-clevo-p151sm1-p-5840.html Here is another great laptop, this Sager notebook might not be the thinnest in the world, but it compensates for size with it's GTX 770M, second best Nvidia GPU, this is a beast. This meets your budget, and allows for a decent upgrade, maybe some color backlit keyboard, some cooling upgrade, or whatever else suits you.
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8265-clevo-p150sm-p-6198.html This is almost identical to the previous laptop, so it doesn't really need a description, just a slight difference.
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8255-clevo-p157sm-p-5839.html This is again similar to the previous Sager, it's price tag is 100$ over the other Sager, and for that you get some sexy looking LEDs in the keyboard and trackpad. Even the other laptops mentioned have a backlit keyboard. Take note that they Sagers are 15" while the other ASUS is 17", the Sager ones are more powerful, but if 15" is not enough, you can get a 17" version for an extra 100 bucks.