Asian casino operator Genting Group has appointed industry veteran Edward Farrell to oversee the development of its coming Resorts World Las Vegas project while stating that the planned opening of the $4 billion Las Vegas scheme has been delayed by a further year to 2020.

Kuala Lumpur-based Genting Group explained that Farrell, who will now serve as President for its Resorts World Las Vegas development, began his career in the casino industry more than 30 years ago while attending the University Of Nevada Reno before going on to hold a variety of senior leadership positions at venues in Mississippi, Nevada, Connecticut and New York.

“As the shareholder of Resorts World Las Vegas, we have full confidence in Edward’s ability to lead a well-organized team of highly qualified professionals to collectively shepherd Resorts World Las Vegas through development and into successful operation,” read a statement from Tan Kong Han, President and Chief Operating Officer for Genting Group. “After careful consideration of the Las Vegas market and perfecting our planned cutting-edge resort design and amenities, we look forward to Resorts World Las Vegas commencing full construction by the third quarter of 2017 under Edward’s leadership.”

Being built on the site of the former Stardust Resort And Casino, which was demolished in 2007, on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, Resorts World Las Vegas is due to feature 3,000 hotel rooms and a 100,000 sq ft casino along with dining and retail options and a nightlife venue. Genting Group paid rival Boyd Gaming Corporation around $350 million for the Nevada site in 2013 and had originally hoped to complete construction on its newest integrated casino resort after only three years but the project has been continually delayed with Farrell putting the most recent hold-up down to a complete overhaul of the scheme’s original design.

“The initial drawing had a lot of traditional [and] older Chinese architecture and elements that were within it,” Farrell told the Associated Press news service. “The company has really taken a look at the market in Las Vegas throughout the past couple of years and it has really shifted to something that’s much more modern.”

Farrell told the news service that the latest design for Resorts World Las Vegas is “much more Shanghai than maybe Beijing with technology and a modern-looking feel” while revealing that Genting Group has already compiled a list of Las Vegas-based contractors that have experience in building large resorts.

“Significant time has been spent on the design to ensure that Resorts World Las Vegas will not only feature the exciting gaming experience Genting [Group] customers all over the world have come to expect from us but also to debut completely new and captivating entertainment concepts that will appeal to a wide range of visitors to Las Vegas; international and domestic alike,” read a statement from Farrell.

The Malaysian firm moreover detailed that “several thousand” construction workers are to be employed to build its Resorts World Las Vegas development while the finished project is to offer union positions to more than 3,000 people alongside “thousands of more indirect jobs”.