Hillbillies Casino on the ropes, but not out

Developers of the Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino in north Douglas County have taken some tough hits, a combo blow of lawsuits and economic recession, but they're not throwing in the towel.

"The amount of time the lawsuit has taken has pushed us into this period of economic decline in our country," project spokesman Don Smit said last week. "We are wrestling with how to move forward and get the financing opportunities that we had two years ago. We're not giving up."

The lawsuit Smit referred to was the one filed by Big George Ventures in September 2007. The lawsuit, filed against Douglas County and its board of commissioners, asked the court to overturn the county's prior approval of the casino project, which, if built, will neighbor Big George's planned residential development.

The adjacent properties lie east of Highway 395, between Topsy Lane and North Sunridge Drive. In approving the $120 million, 270,000-square-foot hotel/casino, commissioners approved a zoning change from general commercial to tourist commercial, a gaming overlay for unrestricted gambling and height variances for two 12-story towers.

"We were never against the casino, just a big casino against single-family housing," Robbe Lehmann, Big George spokesman, said last week.

Lehmann said Big George is planning to drop the lawsuit.

He said changes to the planned Georgetown Village have made the residential project more compatible with the casino.

Last year, county commissioners approved a density increase for the 100-acre Big George site, increasing the number of allowed residential units from 366 to 630, including a density bonus for affordable housing, and new receiving area for mixed-use commercial and multifamily dwellings.

"We got the approval we thought we needed to be compatible with the casino," Lehmann said.

He said they're awaiting the outcome of another lawsuit before dropping the casino lawsuit.

In December, north county residents Jerry Vaccaro and Anne Sullivan sued Douglas County and Big George Ventures, arguing that the density increase should be overturned. On April 15, District Court Judge Michael Gibbons upheld the county's decision. However, the plaintiffs may appeal to a higher court, and that possibility is hindering Big George.

"If they don't appeal, then we drop the suit," Lehmann said. "But as long as our approval is in jeopardy, we'll keep ours (lawsuit) in play."

The dropping of Big George's lawsuit would be good news for the casino's progenitor, actor Max Baer Jr., who played the character Jethro in the namesake television series, "The Beverly Hillbillies."

But Baer's trouble won't end with Big George.

According to an April 29 article in the Las Vegas Sun, Urban Systems " The Innovation Group of Basalt, Colo., has filed suit in Clark County District Court against Jethro's Beverly Hillbilly Development, LLC, claiming that Jethro's owes more than $30,000 for a market assessment and other work performed by Innovation.

Both Baer and his attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit.

n Scott Neuffer can be reached at sneuffer@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 217.