Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Limited has reportedly determined that only 30 live gaming tables will be sufficient to open its redeveloped Casino Jai Alai venue before the end of the year.

According to a report from the Chinese-language Macao Daily News newspaper, the surprising revelation was made by Angela Leong On Kei, Managing Director for casino operator SJM Holdings Limited and a member of the Legislative Assembly Of Macau, during the opening ceremony for a recent corporate event.

The newspaper reported that 56-year-old Leong did not explain from where the 30 units for the downtown property would be coming as all of its previous table licenses have since been parceled out to other SJM Holdings Limited venues following the development’s closure in February of 2013. It is unlikely that the property will receive any new-to-market live gaming table licenses as a government policy instituted four years ago is seeking to limit the growth of such permits to 3% until 2022.

SJM Holdings Limited announced in November of 2012 that it would be temporarily closing the Casino Jai Alai for redevelopment while the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Ambrose So Shu Fai, declared last month that the new-look venue is expected to be finished by October with an expected opening date before the end of 2016.

The operator earlier proclaimed that the revamped property is expected to feature a hotel with approximately 130 rooms alongside restaurants and shops while SJM Holdings Limited moreover explained that these new facilities would enhance business at its adjacent Casino Oceanus mass-market gaming property. As of the end of June, the Hong Kong-listed firm had reportedly so far entered into capital commitments for the Casino Jai Alai worth around $718,072. It supplies live gaming tables to its directly managed properties including the Casino Lisboa as well as to “satellite” casinos, which are managed by third parties but rely on a license granted to SJM Holdings Limited, such as Macau Legend Development Limited and it’s The Landmark Macau property.