The world’s largest casino has brought some imposing political problems, too.

Six months after Genting Group announced plans for a massive casino resort on the Miami waterfront, the sheer magnitude of the project has proved an ample target.

Critics of downtown casinos, including Miami Heat owner Micky Arison and developer Armando Codina, point to traffic woes from the 5,200-room resort as a central problem. Even some supporters of bringing new casinos to Miami cite Genting’s proposed Resorts World Miami as too much of a good thing.

And the lawmakers behind a bill that would allow Genting’s $4 billion project now talk of a backlash against the company’s campaign to win support through promises to transform Miami tourism with a gleaming resort of undulating towers and dozens of restaurants.

“The rendering that was released was helpful at first,” Rep Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said of Genting’s drawing of six towers designed to resemble a massive coral reef on Biscayne Bay. “Miami-Dade County was thirsty for a vision of economic development, and that hydrated them.”

“But then,’’ Fresen added, “it went from hydration to water boarding.’’

A Genting spokesman declined to make company executives available for an interview, saying they were busy in Tallahassee. Recently, Genting’s top executive in Florida, Christian Goode, suggested the company might scale back the project detailed in architectural drawings. “That’s our vision, but do we get there?” he asked. “Who knows?’’ This past week, Genting issued a statement that said in part: “We continue to collaborate and listen to stakeholders, Miami residents, and business and civic leaders at the state and local levels. The only thing set in stone is that Resorts World Miami will be a world-class destination resort.”

MAJOR PLAYERS

Criticism of Genting from Fresen and the Senate co-sponsor of his bill, Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, reflects the challenging feat before the Malaysian company as it leads the charge for bringing major casinos to South Florida.

Though every major player in Las Vegas is now eyeing Miami, Genting is the only casino company publicly advocating a site and spelling out what a casino would actually look like. That’s providing fodder for critics who want to link the plan to Vegas-style grandeur.

Genting executives “have messed up the message,’’ Bogdanoff said during an appearance with Fresen at The Miami Herald Editorial Board. She said she has told Genting executives to pull back their public efforts because “you have created a huge problem for us from a messaging standpoint. You’ve taken the people you’re trying to persuade, and you’re scaring them.”

On Friday, she said of the Genting plan: “It got people excited. But because of the size and scope, it gave naysayers the chance to twist a vision.”

Stuart Blumberg, the retired head of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, recently sent a blistering letter to state lawmakers, criticizing anti-gambling arguments by a state lodging group and endorsing well-regulated casino resorts. But he included an aside noting “the Genting proposal is out of scale for Miami.’’

GENTING’S POLL

But Genting representatives describe a disconnect between influencers and actual residents. A poll Genting released Thursday of 1,300 Miami-Dade voters found strong support for both casinos in general and the Resorts World project, which would rise on land currently occupied by The Miami Herald.