After a majority vote by members of the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facilities Review Board in June in favor of the construction of a gambling casino owned by the state, investors are now seeking approval to add a four-story hotel.

The Kansas Crossing proposal was the least expensive of the three proposals and is estimated to cost $70 million. Last year Kansas lowered the required investment from prospective developers and reopened the application process for a contract to build a casino in Crawford or Cherokee county.

Investors of the Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel would like their Hampton Inn & Suites to have 123 rooms and four stories, but the area limit for buildings is three stories or 35 feet. The request by developers will be put to vote by the Pittsburgh Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday;

Located near the junction of U.S. Highways 69 and 400, the project that could open as soon as June of next year, launched construction shortly after the development was given the nod by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, according to one of the investors, Nancy Seitz.

The Cherokee County Commission is seeking a temporary injunction to block the Kansas Crossing project from going forward, and have sued the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission and those members of that body who voted to award the contract to Kansas Crossing. Also named in the lawsuit filed in Shawnee County Court, the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board and its members; the Kansas Lottery and its executive director; and Kansas Crossing.

According to the 557-page lawsuit, the Castle Rock Casino Resort proposal for a casino in Cherokee County was the “best” with the highest revenue, most tourists, most amenities and most jobs. Cherokee County officials say the county will lose at least $8.5 million in taxes and other economic benefits without court intervention. According to developers, the $70.2 million development is expected to have 625 slot machines and 16 gaming tables, and attract an estimated 500,000 visitors a year.

The Kansas Crossing casino would be the last of four casinos that are non-tribal allowed under the 2007 Kansas law. The casinos are owned by the Kansas Lottery and the state receives 22% of the gambling profits.