If Max Baer Jr. is successful in building his Jethro Bodine's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino in north Douglas County, it's going to be an impressive sight. And it would be good news for Douglas County, giving them an attraction and, eventually, a new source of sales tax income.
But what will it mean for Carson City?
No one will know the answer to that question until we learn the fate of the old Wal-Mart building, which could happen any time. That's prime retail space that should be generating sales tax revenues desperately needed by the city, but by sitting empty has cost the city a great deal.
If you ask Max Baer Jr., the city's leaders have nobody but themselves to blame for that, while the city counters that it was beyond their control to approve a casino on that site next to retailers that did not want it. The city tried to find Baer alternate sites, but apparently none of the sites available measured up.
We hope Baer is successful beyond his wildest dreams and that the project adds to the new regional cooperation sprouting in Northern Nevada. It could make a nice complement to the V&T Railroad and other attractions under development. It's even possible that Carson City could benefit financially, depending on how the two counties proceed in figuring out equitable ways to distribute sales tax revenues.
It will probably turn out that this is the best outcome for everyone involved. Douglas County has endless land and Max Baer Jr. has endless dreams.