Macau casino operator SJM Holdings says it will request up to 500 gaming tables for its in-development Lisboa Palace, but the company may be setting itself up for disappointment.

SJM originally claimed it would seek up to 700 gaming tables for its $4b Lisboa Palace resort, the company’s first property on Cotai. But on Friday, SJM CEO Ambrose So (pictured) said the company now intended to apply for “400 to 500” new tables when the property nears completion.

Speaking on the sidelines of a European Chamber of Commerce gala dinner, So said Lisboa Palace deserved 500 tables because the property’s plans had designated 95% of its floor space for non-gaming elements, in keeping with requests by governments in both Macau and Beijing for the gaming hub to lessen its dependence on gambling revenue.

However, the two new resorts that opened in 2015 – Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Galaxy Macau Phase 2 and Melco Crown Entertainment’s Studio City – each originally sought around 400 new tables, only to receive 250 tables apiece, despite making the same 95% non-gaming pledges.