Kansas Crossing Casino holds groundbreaking ceremony

"We're very elated to finally get going. As you can see here, we're making good progress already. It's been a long haul, but it's worth it the wait," said Bruce Christenson, Kansas Crossing Casino and Resort Lead Developer.

The project will create approximately 300 full time jobs and 380 construction jobs. Pittsburg city leaders said the casino will have a lasting economic impact on the surrounding communities and the State of Kansas.

"You know, this is a depressed area, so anytime you can bring in any kind of tourism or any kind of industry what so ever, it's going to boost the dollar spent and the taxes paid in the area. It's just a tremendous asset to us," said John Ketterman, Pittsburg Mayor.

Once the casino is in operation, they will distribute $4.5 million over the next 10 years of their annual gaming revenue fund to PSU, Crawford County Visitors Bureau and CTEC.

"They are community orientated. Like Bruce said earlier in the meeting, I was one of the founders of CTEC. It's for junior and seniors in high school and for post education, they learn them a trade. They're going to get $400,000 a year," said Carl Wood, Crawford County Commissioner.

The project was put to a halt after a lawsuit was file against the casino by Castle Rock, which was competing for the contract to build in Cherokee County. A district court judge later dismissed the suit and now Cherokee County commissioners have since voted to appeal that judge's decision.

"It's frivolous and irrelevant, and we're not paying. The judge has overruled it consistently that we won and they lost. And you know, in a many page brief, he explained why several times, so we're just going on," said Christenson.