KT Lim, who has served as Genting Berhad’s CEO and Chairman for over 20 years, is stepping down from those roles at the Malaysian-based gaming giant, making room for his successor, KH Tan, amid regulatory violations at its subsidiary, Resorts World Las Vegas.
New Chapter
The 73-year-old KT Lim will remain with the company as executive chairman of its board of directors, but his role as CEO and chairman will be filled by KH Tan, who has served as Genting Berhad’s president and chief operating officer for 18 years and will also assume the role of executive director in 2020.
Tan will remain the company’s president and executive director in addition to his new duties but will relinquish his role as COO. “On behalf of the board, I would like to congratulate (Tan) on his promotion and new appointment,” Lim said in the news release, adding that Tan “is now stepping into the CEO role as part of a multi-year succession plan.”
Genting owns the only casino license in Malaysia, dating back to 1969, and operates casinos and resorts in Singapore, the U.K. and the Bahamas, as well as Resorts World properties in Nevada, New York and Florida.
New Leadership, New Vision
The ascension of a new CEO and Chairman could signal expansion at the Resorts World Las Vegas property. The $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, located at the north end of the Strip, opened in June 2021. It occupies roughly half of the property’s 88 acres, prompting Chairman Lim to comment on expanding the complex and utilizing more of its acreage.
However, those expansion plans have yet to be realized under Kim’s reign, but some are speculating that may change with new faces at the top.
Resorts World Turmoil
It is unclear whether the 12-count complaint filed by the Nevada Gaming Commission against Resorts World Las Vegas and its parent company, Genting Berhad, had anything to do with KT Lim’s departure as CEO and Chairman of the latter. But there was also a reshuffling of the C-suite deck at Genting’s embattled subsidiary.
The former CEO and board chairman of MGM Resorts International, Jim Murren, was recently installed as chairman of a four-person board of directors at Resorts World Las Vegas that will “bolster the property’s governance structure to help drive the go-forward business strategy,” according to a company news release.
Shortly thereafter was the appointment of former Q Casino & Resort and Dubuque Racing Association CEO Alex Dixon as its new chief executive officer. The executive-level overhaul is undoubtedly a direct result of the alleged violations of the Nevada Gaming Control Act and the Nevada Gaming Commission’s regulations.
“As Resorts World Las Vegas continues to establish itself as the premier resort destination in Las Vegas, we are excited to welcome this group of industry leaders overseeing and guiding the Leadership Team to deliver unparalleled guest experiences while fostering our commitment to compliance,” said Lim. “With over 40 years of collective experience in the global gaming and hospitality industry, we are confident that Alex and Jim, alongside the Board, will help drive the Company forward in pursuing our strategic goals for years to come.”
The company cited that the strategic moves were made to bolster leadership, expedite growth and focus on governance and compliance regarding their betting services.
