Genting Group: The Malaysian Gaming Empire Behind Resorts World Las Vegas

Genting Group's founder Lim Goh Tong built the original Resorts World Genting Highlands in 1971. The company now operates internationally — including the $4.3B Resorts World Las Vegas.

In 60 seconds

Genting Group is a Malaysian conglomerate founded by Lim Goh Tong in 1965. The flagship is Resorts World Genting Highlands (Malaysia, the only legal casino in Muslim-majority Malaysia). The company now operates globally: Resorts World Sentosa (Singapore), Resorts World Manila, Resorts World Las Vegas ($4.3B build, opened 2021), Resorts World New York City (video lottery property at Aqueduct racetrack), Resorts World Birmingham (UK). Plus they were the original Foxwoods financiers — see our Foxwoods story.

Genting Group is the casino operator most Americans don't know they've heard of. The Resorts World Las Vegas — the giant red building at the north end of the Strip — is owned by them. Resorts World New York at Aqueduct racetrack is owned by them. They funded Foxwoods 30 years ago. They're a Malaysian company that's quietly built one of the largest international gaming operations in the world.

01

Lim Goh Tong — the founder

Lim Goh Tong was a Malaysian businessman who saw an opportunity to build a casino-and-resort in Malaysia's mountainous Genting Highlands region in the late 1960s. The Malaysian government — facing economic-development pressure — granted him a casino license despite the country's Muslim majority.

Resorts World Genting Highlands opened 1971. It quickly became the largest casino in Southeast Asia. The Lim family built Genting Group into a conglomerate with gaming, plantation, oil & gas, and power-generation businesses.

Lim Goh Tong died in 2007. His son Lim Kok Thay leads Genting today.

02

The Foxwoods financing

In 1992 the Mashantucket Pequot tribe needed financing for what would become Foxwoods. Banks wouldn't lend to a sovereign tribe. Lim Goh Tong, through Genting, provided $60M.

The deal: Genting got operating fees and revenue share for the first decade. Foxwoods paid back the loan in 3 years. The Genting investment in Foxwoods was a major win and gave the company experience in North American casino operations.

We covered this in the Foxwoods story.

03

Resorts World Sentosa — Singapore, 2010

In 2010 Genting won one of two Singapore casino licenses (the other went to Sheldon Adelson's Marina Bay Sands). Resorts World Sentosa opened on Sentosa Island as part of an integrated resort with Universal Studios Singapore, multiple hotels, and an aquarium.

Total project cost: ~$5B Singapore dollars. The property has been highly profitable for Genting.

04

Resorts World New York — 2011

In 2011 Genting opened Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. It's a video-lottery-terminal facility (not a full casino), authorized under New York's racetrack-gaming legislation. ~5,500 VLTs.

Resorts World NYC has consistently been the top revenue producer of any New York gaming property since opening. Genting is now bidding for one of the three downstate casino licenses to upgrade Resorts World NYC to a full casino.

05

Resorts World Las Vegas — 2021

The $4.3B Vegas build. Opened June 2021. The single largest greenfield casino build in Vegas in the previous decade.

The property:

  • 3,506 hotel rooms across three towers (Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas, Crockfords Las Vegas)
  • 117,000 sqft casino floor
  • Famous Foods food court (Asian-cuisine focused, distinctive in Vegas)
  • 5,000-seat Resorts World Theatre

Genting Rewards is the loyalty program. The property is gaining market share but hasn't yet displaced any of the established Strip giants.

We touched on Resorts World in our Vegas Strip 2026 guide.

06

International expansion

Genting also operates:

  • Resorts World Manila (Philippines)
  • Resorts World Birmingham (UK)
  • Crockfords Cairo (Egypt, smaller)

Plus they've bid for licenses in:

  • New York downstate (full casino upgrade for Aqueduct)
  • Bahamas
  • Various other emerging markets
07

What makes Genting distinct

Three things:

  1. Asian high-roller relationships. Genting's Malaysian and Singapore properties are deeply integrated with Asian high-roller networks. Resorts World Las Vegas was specifically designed to capture Asian high-rollers visiting Vegas — restaurant lineup, room amenities, marketing all reflect this.
  1. Conglomerate stability. Genting is one of multiple Lim family businesses. Casino revenue volatility is buffered by plantations, oil & gas, energy. They don't need to make every property an immediate winner.
  1. Long time horizons. The Foxwoods deal in 1992 was a 10-year payback. Resorts World Vegas is structured as a 20-year investment. Public-company operators (MGM, Caesars) need quicker paybacks.

Genting is the casino operator most positioned to win Asian-high-roller business in the next decade. The Resorts World brand, the Asian-cuisine focus, the multilingual staffing, and the international network create infrastructure that pure-Vegas operators can't replicate.

For our take on Resorts World as a place to actually book: Vegas Strip 2026.

Last updated August 19, 2026

Topics

  • genting
  • resorts-world
  • industry
  • international

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