“Jethro” Wants Hillbilly Casino

Max Baer Junior has fired the first legal salvo in a battle to build the Beverly Hillbillies Mansion and Casino in Carson City´s Southgate Shopping Center.

The actor who lives at Lake Tahoe filed a lawsuit in Carson City District Court yesterday against two neighbors at the shopping center, J-C Penney and The Glenbrook Company.

He´s challenging restrictions that may prohibit development of a theater, nightclub, bowling alley or other place of recreation at the mall.

Glenbrook spokeswoman Shelley Aldean says it is regrettable that Baer is taking the case to court. She told the Nevada Appeal they hoped to resolve the issue outside the courtroom. She says Baer does not have the right to develop a casino without the cooperation of his partners.

Plans for the casino include a 200-foot flaming oil derrick, 30,000-square-foot casino and a 240-room hotel and restaurants — all wrapped around a “Beverly Hillbillies” theme.

Baer played the dimwitted Jethro in the hit TV series. He originally planned the project in Reno, but the Reno City Council shot it down.