‘Hillbilly’ goes to court for casino

Max Baer Jr. has gone to court in an effort to build his proposed $54-million Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino in a Carson City, Nev., shopping center he shares with the Glenbrook Co. and J.C. Penney.

Plans for the casino include a 200-foot flaming oil derrick, 30,000-square-foot casino with 800 slot machines and 16 game tables, a 240-room hotel and restaurants -- all keying on “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV series, in which Baer played Jethro Bodine.

In a petition filed this week in Carson City District Court, lawyers for Baer, 66, said he has a legal right to develop his property. Standing in the way are restrictions signed in 1993 among the three major property owners at the time -- J.C. Penney Co., Glenbrook Corp. and Wal-Mart -- that limit the mall’s use to commercial purposes “normally found in a retail shopping center.”