On March 30, 1987, the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center opened with a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m 2) casino and a 60-lane bowling alley, The complex was built on land leased from Resorts International, just north of the under-construction Resorts Taj Mahal (which became the Trump Taj Mahal upon opening in 1990, now reopening as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City). Casino Association of New Jersey & State of New Jersey Reopening Orders: September 4, 2020: Administrative Order 2020-19 Casino Smoking Repeal: July 23, 2020: Order Reinstating Certificate of Operation of Borgata Casino. According to the DOL, New Jersey’s initial claims amounted to 71,017 for the week ending April 25, down 69,122 from April 18 jobless claims of 140,139. Heading into May, some 850,000+ workers have already filed for unemployment. One of the leading employers in the Garden State is the Hotel & Casino. Customers will have 30 days after reopening to redeem expired vouchers at the Casino Cashier. The health and well-being of our guests and employees is, as always, our top priority.

The Showboat Atlantic City is a hotel and former casino 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.^[3]

History[edit]

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On March 30, 1987, the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center opened with a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) casino and a 60-lane bowling alley,^[4] The complex was built on land leased from Resorts International,^[5] just north of the under-construction Resorts Taj Mahal (which became the Trump Taj Mahal upon opening in 1990, now reopening as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City). The grand opening ceremony featured Bob Hope and Al Hirt.^[4]

The Showboat opened the city's first racebook in 1993, following the legalization in 1990 of casino simulcast wagering.^[6]

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, 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.^[7]

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.^[8][9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11][12] The plan was derailed by legal issues, and Stockton sold the property to Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein for $23 million in January 2016.^{[3][13][14][15][16][17]}

Blatstein announced in June 2016 that the Showboat would reopen the following month as a non-gaming hotel.^[18] 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 are currently closed indefinitely and decorated with images of Atlantic City.

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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

Dining[edit]

Current Restaurants

• Worship Surf Bar
• Canal Street Coffee Shop
• 12 Bar
• Bricker's Burgers & More ^[22]
• Atlantic City Eatery

Former Restaurants

• Atlantic City Eatery
• Casa di Napoli
• Crossroads
• Foundation Room Dining
• French Quarter Buffet
• Royal Noodle House
• Scarduzio's Steak - Sushi - Lounge
• Sundeck Coffee Shop
• Starbucks Coffee
• Worship Surf Bar

Amenities[edit]

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. Bob Hope was the first headliner at the resort. Other headliners included Phyllis Diller, Charo, The Judds, Ray Charles, The Spinners, Jack Jones, Alan King and Willie Nelson. 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 LauperElvis Costello to the White Stripes to Erykah Badu. Boxing matches are held at the casino.^[23]

Upon the reopening of the Showboat, the hotel rebranded the former House of Blues as the Bourbon Room^[24] which hosts concerts and other events. The hotel also introduced a video arcade called Starcade^[25] and a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course sponsored by Glow Golf^[26] However, both the Starcade and Glow Golf establishments have closed.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Property Record for 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ
2. ^ ^abShowboat Atlantic City Review by Casino City
3. ^ ^abJonathan Lai (January 15, 2016). 'Stockton completes Showboat sale to Blatstein'. Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
4. ^ ^abDonald Janson (March 31, 1987). '12th casino hotel opens, with 60-lane attraction'. New York Times. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
5. ^George Anastasia (February 11, 1986). 'Hearing focuses on Resorts as a redeveloper'. Philadelphia Inquirer.
6. ^Mike Farrell (May 29, 1993). 'Casino welcomes horses'. The Record. Bergen County, NJ. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. – via HighBeam (subscription required)
7. ^Joe Bob Briggs (January 9, 2002). 'The Vegas Guy: Showboat Atlantic City'. UPI. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
8. ^'Caesars closing Showboat Casino 'to stabilize our business in Atlantic City'' Breaking News pressofatlanticcity.com
9. ^Showboat closes after 27 years in Atlantic City - News - NorthJersey.com
10. ^https://web.archive.org/web/20140830182513/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20140829_ap_3fe0a255bdfd4830ae3c3c79ef8c17a2.html
11. ^Forand, Rebecca (December 12, 2014). 'Stockton buys Showboat for $18 million, creating 'Island campus''. South Jersey Times. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
12. ^Trump Taj Mahal blocking Stockton University move to Showboat, says school president NJ.com
13. ^Opinion: Showboat good for Stockton and A.C. - Opinion: Guest Writers - NorthJersey.com
14. ^Stockton President Resigns Over Purchase of Bankrupt Showboat Casino - NJ Spotlight
15. ^[1]
16. ^New information indicates Stockton University broke N.J. law in purchasing Showboat casino - News - NorthJersey.com
17. ^Costs from Stockton University's casino purchase grow - News - NorthJersey.com
18. ^Wayne Parry (June 3, 2016). 'Atlantic City's Showboat is reopening — but without casino'. Seattle Times. AP. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
19. ^David Danzis (October 24, 2018). 'Showboat may soon offer market-rate apartments'. Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
20. ^Nicholas Huba (February 20, 2018). 'Is casino gaming returning to the Showboat?'. Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
21. ^Devin O'Connor (December 29, 2020). 'New Jersey Casino Authority Approves Tax Credits for Showboat Atlantic City Water Park'. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
22. ^https://www.showboathotelac.com/atlantic-city-hotel
23. ^'Boxing is making a comeback in Atlantic City'. pressofatlanticcity.com. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
24. ^https://www.bourbonroomac.com
25. ^https://starcade-ac.com/
26. ^https://www.opryglowgolf.com/locations/atlantic-city-new-jersey-showboat-hotel

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 39°21′42″N74°25′5″W / 39.36167°N 74.41806°W

The casinos of Atlantic City have reopened in a pandemic world in a bid to try to salvage lost business. However, gamblers in Atlantic City are already being confronted with a very different casino experience.

Following a 108-day closure, many of Atlantic City’s casinos reopened their doors at the beginning of July. Avid visitors to the tables in Atlantic City have already noticed some of the changes casinos have made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Casinos Implement Anti-Virus Measures

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy published guidance on what casinos should do in order to reopen safely and prevent a resurgence of the virus.

Compliance within casinos appeared to be nearly universal. An Associated Press reporter said that in more than two hours on the floor of the Hard Rock Casino he didn’t see a single customer not wearing a face mask of some kind. He also reported some customers were wearing full-face hoods extending down to their chests.

Casinos are currently limited to 25% of their usual operating capacity. At the tables, plexiglass dividers have been implemented in order to separate seats. Furthermore, slot machines are switched off every so often to maintain distance between players.

Thus far, it seems patrons are following both mask and social distancing guidelines.

New Jersey Residents Respond Positively

Despite videos emerging from major retailers like Walmart and Costco of confrontations between customers and staff over their anti-virus measures, the same scenes have not played out in Atlantic City.

On the contrary, visitors to the casinos of Atlantic City have responded positively to the changes.

Tony Revaman from Atlantic City says he used to visit the casinos twice a week before the March 16th shutdown. He said, “It’s great to be back. Only thing is you can’t smoke. I’m a smoker and I’m trying to find some way around this.”

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Patrons of Atlantic City’s casinos were almost universal in their desire to follow the rules as long as they could gamble again.

Mike McLaughlin of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, said, “Accept, adapt, and have fun. I’m a gambler; this is what I do.”

Borgata Finally Removes its Resistance to Reopening

Eight of the nine Atlantic City casinos reopened their doors at the start of July, with three holding out for an extra day to give their high rollers a chance for a one-day head start, and to test out the new coronavirus measures in place.

The city’s largest and most profitable casino, the Borgata, decided against reopening. Indoor dining, drinking bans, and smoking bans within casinos encouraged the Borgata to reverse its reopening plans.

The Borgata has, finally, set a tentative date of July 26th for reopening. It remains unclear as to whether Governor Murphy will ease any of the coronavirus restrictions currently in place. However, the Borgata has been largely forced into a corner and has been forced to reopen in order to protect its position as the local market leader.

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Will the Reopening Last for Long?

Anyone who has been reading the latest news regarding coronavirus will know that the number of infections throughout the US has exploded again. A spike in deaths in the coming weeks is widely expected. New Jersey has already experienced a major outbreak in cases.

This will leave Atlantic City’s nine casinos wondering whether they will be forced to reclose their doors and cause more disruption to their businesses.

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The decision will likely rest on not New Jersey but on Atlantic City itself. If a major outbreak occurs within the city, another lockdown for the state’s casinos is likely.

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For now, though, casinos are doing what they can to ensure that no clusters of coronavirus are traced back to their casinos or the city.