The Showboat Atlantic City is a resort

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and former

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Showboat opened as a casino hotel in 1987 and closed in 2014; the hotel reopened in 2016. It is owned by developer Bart Blatstein.

History

On March 30, 1987, the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center opened with a casino and a 60-lane

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

. The complex was built on land leased from

Resorts International Resorts International was a hotel and casino company. From its origins as a paint company, it moved into the resort business in the 1960s with the development of Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and then expanded to Atlantic City, New Jersey with ...

, just north of the under-construction Resorts Taj Mahal (which became the Trump Taj Mahal upon opening in 1990, now the

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal) is a casino and hotel on the Boardwalk, owned by Hard Rock International, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The casino, originally known as the ''Trump Taj Mahal,'' was inaugu ...

). The grand opening ceremony featured

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and Al Hirt. The Showboat opened the city's first

racebook In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambling, gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, American football, football, basketball, baseball, ice h ...

in 1993, following the legalization in 1990 of casino

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

wagering. Steelman Partners completed a major renovation in 1995, creating a Mardi Gras theme. In 1998, the property's parent company, Showboat, Inc., was purchased by

Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...

, later known as Caesars Entertainment. With the popularity of bowling on the decline, the bowling alley was closed in 2001, and the space was used for a new buffet and a coffee shop. In May 2003, the Showboat added a 544-room, $90 million hotel tower called the Orleans Tower. In 2007, the hotel remodeled its original tower, the Bourbon Tower. In the past decade, many improvements were made to the establishment, including a new hotel tower and a House of Blues on the boardwalk, along with a complete renovation of the boardwalk facade. In June 2014, Caesars Entertainment announced the planned closure of the Showboat, even though the property was profitable. The move was made in an effort to stabilize Caesars's other Atlantic City casinos. After a buyer could not be found, the Showboat closed on August 31, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. It employed 2,100 people, but 470 of them were immediately hired at other Caesars casinos. The shutdown came amid a wave of closures of Atlantic City properties, with four of the city's casinos closing in 2014. On December 13, 2014, Richard Stockton College (later Stockton University) purchased the Showboat for $18 million, with plans to develop a full-service residential campus awarding undergraduate and graduate degrees and other professional training programs. The plan was derailed by legal issues, and Stockton sold the property to Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein for $23 million in January 2016. Blatstein announced in June 2016 that the Showboat would reopen the following month as a non-gaming hotel. The "new" Showboat Atlantic City Hotel opened July 8, accepting reservations and welcoming guests. The new hotel features only one restaurant, bar and coffee shop. The former casino space and House of Blues areas were closed off and decorated with images of Atlantic City on makeshift walls. The casino floor space was subsequently used for various conventions and events. In February 2018, Blatstein took a preliminary step toward applying for a casino license for the property. Blatstein said "There is over a billion dollars worth of investment in that part of the town that should not be ignored," referring to the reopening of two shuttered casinos next to the Showboat, the Ocean Resort Casino and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Later that year, Blatstein also announced plans to convert 264 of the Showboat's hotel rooms into apartments. In early 2019, Bart Blatstein was approved to apply for a casino license. Blatstein planned to build a new casino in the lot in between Showboat and Ocean Casino Resort. Due to a deed restriction placed on Showboat by Caesars Entertainment, the building may not be used as a casino, so building a new building was a way around it. The new casino was expected to break ground in 2020. However, in December 2020, the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved Blatstein's request for financial assistance to turn the space originally intended for a casino into a $100 million indoor water park. Blatstein also sought to have the park designated as an entertainment retail district project, allowing the park to qualify for up to $2.5 million in annual sales tax breaks for 20 years. In May 2021, Showboat opened the Lucky Snake Arcade and Sports Bar took over most of the empty casino floor space, giving Showboat a permanent non-casino attraction. It is New Jersey's largest arcade with over 100 games and attractions such as video games, bowling, skee-ball and other games. The area also features a sports bar with large screens and a full-size boxing ring.

Dining

Current restaurants

*Worship Surf Bar *Canal Street Coffee Shop *12 Bar *Bricker's Burgers & More *Atlantic City Eatery

Former restaurants

*Atlantic City Eatery *Casa di Napoli *Crossroads *

Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...

*Foundation Room Dining *French Quarter Buffet *

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

Johnny Rockets } The Johnny Rockets Group Inc. is an American restaurant franchise whose themed decor is based upon 1950s diner-style restaurants. Décor includes Coca-Cola advertising, featuring nearly life-size cardboard illustrations of women in World War ...

*Royal Noodle House *Scarduzio's Steak - Sushi - Lounge *Sundeck Coffee Shop *Starbucks Coffee *Worship Surf Bar

Amenities

Showboat has a 3,500 sq.ft. spa, a fitness center, a pool and two gift shops. Prior to the addition to the House of Blues, shows were performed in two venues, either the Mardi Gras Showroom or Mississippi Pavilion.

was the first headliner at the resort. Other headliners included

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...

Charo María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-American actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist. Charo began playing guitar at the age of nine and trained under the famed A ...

The Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, The Spinners, Jack Jones, Alan King and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

. Smaller Las Vegas-style revue shows were also sporadically booked in the Mardi Gras Showroom. The opening of The House of Blues in 2005 saw the entertainment bookings ranging from

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

Elvis Costello to the

White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wi ...

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

. Boxing matches are held at the casino. Upon the reopening of the Showboat, the hotel rebranded the former House of Blues as the Bourbon Room which hosts concerts and other events. The hotel also introduced a

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such a ...

called Starcade and a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course sponsored by Glow Golf However, both the Starcade and Glow Golf establishments have closed, being replaced by the much larger Lucky Snake Arcade & Sports Bar.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 39, 21, 42, N, 74, 25, 5, W, source:frwiki_region:US_type:landmark, display=title Defunct casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey Resorts in New Jersey Hotels established in 1987 Hotel buildings completed in 1987 Skyscraper hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey Boxing venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey Hotels disestablished in 2014 2014 disestablishments in New Jersey Casino hotels 1987 establishments in New Jersey Hotels established in 2016