********* – The developer of a sprawling Chinese-themed resort on the ********* Strip said Tuesday that the long-awaited hotel-casino on the former site of the Stardust Hotel is expected to open by mid-2018.

K.T. Lim, chairman and CEO of Malaysia-based Genting Group, said the $4 billion Resorts ***** ********* would showcase China’s people and regions, both past and present.

After performances by traditional Chinese lion dancers and speeches in front of a large gathering of notable Nevada leaders and industry officials, Lim, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and other officials placed golden shovels into hard dirt at the 88-acre site next to Circus Circus, signalling the start of construction.

Genting Group, which has casino resorts on several continents, first promised a 2016 opening when it bought the site from Boyd Gaming in 2013 for $350 million.

The concrete bones of Boyd’s partially built Echelon casino-hotel were the backdrop for the glittering confetti and golden shovels at Tuesday’s groundbreaking. Construction of Echelon stopped in 2008 amid the economic downturn.

Plans for Resorts ***** ********* include 3,500 rooms, an outdoor amphitheatre and a possible panda habitat.

Casino mogul Steve Wynn, who attended the groundbreaking, called Lim a friend and regular at Wynn’s casino-hotels.

“We love picking up a neighbour,” he told The Associated Press as he left the event. Especially a well-capitalized and experienced neighbour like the Genting Group, Wynn said. Resorts ***** won’t be far from his Wynn and Encore resorts on the ********* Strip.

Wynn described Lim’s goal of opening by mid-2018 as ambitious.

“He’s got a lot of work to do,” Wynn said.