The $70.2 million Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel located in the Southeast Kansas Gaming Zone, is on schedule to open this coming year in March, according to a company spokesman.

The Morning Sun reports that spokesman for Kansas Crossing, Garion Masterson, said via a December 13 email that things are progressing well. “Work is continuing on both the interior and exterior of the casino as we really are putting the shape of everything together,” Masterson said. “A lot of the more particular items are seeing work done. In the interior, we’ve started to rough in things like plumbing, electrical, ductwork and other things,” according to the news agency.

Masterson indicated to the news agency that in addition to the daily installation of drywall and light fixtures, the majority of the brick on the exterior of the casino has been installed and that in the next two weeks the glass vestibules will follow. The company spokesman also said that on January 5, Kansas crossing will host an “all-jobs career fair” at Memorial Auditorium in Pittsburg from 11am to 5pm. It will be the second career fair for the casino, which company officials said earlier this year would create 325 permanent jobs.  Masterson said, “The jobs that are available include things like table games, slots, security, food and beverage, marketing, finance, cage and housekeeping and maintenance. No experience is required,” as reported by The Morning Sun.

The casino was approved by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission back in July of 2015 and was expected to be completed by July of this year; however, the project was delayed due to three extensions granted by the Kansas Lottery. The first of the three was requested on August 17, 2015, due to concerns over pending lawsuits filed by Castle Rock Casino and the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners regarding the awarding of the contract to Kansas Crossing. The second and the third extension requests, citing the same pending litigation concerns, were granted November 30, 2015, and in March of this year, respectively, pushing back the completion date for six months. The lawsuit filed in Shawnee County Court named the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board and its members; the Kansas Lottery and its executive director; and Kansas Crossing as plaintiffs. Under the law, Kansas Crossing can file an extension and request another at any time if the litigation is still pending.

In April of this year, Cherokee County commissioners voted to appeal Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry D. Hendricks’ decision in March that upheld the manner in which the license for the state-owned casino in Crawford County was awarded by the state. Then after refusing in March to reconsider the decision to go ahead with the casino, on June 6, a final ruling was issued by Judge Hendricks denying motions filed against Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission. The plaintiffs had been seeking an injunction to cease construction of the casino, claiming that proper procedures were not followed by the commission.

According to the report, since that time, jurisdiction has been taken by the Kansas Supreme Court, but the matter has not yet been added to the court’s docket.