This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 6, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd has cleared a key hurdle in its efforts to break into the Las Vegas market in the United States, after receiving the green light from Nevada state’s Gaming Control Board to pursue its US$4 billion (RM16 billion) resort project there.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, quoting Genting officials and control board chairman A G Burnett, said regulators, in unanimous votes, “recommended approval of the suitability of officers, directors and shareholders, Genting’s registration as a public company, and its interactive subsidiary for mobile gaming and a loyalty programme”.

“The recommendation will go to the Nevada Gaming Commission for consideration [on] May 19,” said a report on Wednesday in the online edition of the newspaper.

The Resorts World Las Vegas will be developed on the former site of the Stardust Resort and Casino, which closed 10 years ago.

The resort was initially expected to open in 2018 and feature 3,000 rooms, including a 56-storey tower.

But according to the report, Genting officials told the regulators that subtle refinements had been made to the Chinese-themed resort, which the company said would include a 150,000-sq ft casino. And the resort is now scheduled to open in 2019.

“Among the licences recommended for approval [on] Wednesday was an application from Genting Nevada Interactive Gaming. The company is developing and manufacturing proprietary gaming machines and concepts, specifically designed to appeal to millennial players, for the Las Vegas property.

“The company previously presented plans for more rooms and a variety of entertainment amenities that could be added after the planned opening,” Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Burnett was quoted as saying after the board vote that he was not concerned that little had changed at the proposed resort’s 35ha site since the groundbreaking ceremony a year earlier.

“In my view, Genting is just taking a cautious and deliberative approach. But after slowing things down, I think they’re ready to go,” he said.