[toc]The Showboat in Atlantic City is still open after closing a few years ago, although it has quietly stayed off the radar in terms of drama.
That doesn’t mean there are no plans for it to make a bigger impact in the future.
What AC has been focused on other than Showboat
Atlantic City has been mired with a lot of questions of late:
- What’s going on with the state takeover?
- What will happen to the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal?
- Will TEN Atlantic City — formerly Revel — actually reopen?
- Will NJ online casinos continue to prop up the land-based casino industry?
- Will the state’s gambling facilities be allowed to offer sports betting?
The once-closed Showboat and now reopened resort on the AC boardwalk, meanwhile, has largely stayed out of the headlines.
What’s Showboat up to?
The Press of Atlantic City caught up with the plans for the resort, which is open without gambling on property. The resort reopened in July.
Things are going swimmingly, if a public relations person for Showboat is to be believed. More from the Press of AC:
“The Showboat has been a great success since Tower reopened it last year with full to nearly full capacity every weekend,” said Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for the property. “Even now during the winter it’s doing great business. Christmas and New Year’s Eve were sold out as well.”
For reference, the resort has more than a thousand rooms. If everything Johnson said is true, it’s a good sign not only for the future of Showboat, but also for all of AC as it tries to wean itself from total dependence on casino revenue.
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What’s next for Showboat?
Showboat is not going to rest on its laurels; just being open is not enough for developer and owner Bart Blatstein. He told the Press of AC he was “extremely optimistic” about the future of the property.
Blatstein was mum on concrete details in discussing the Showboat, other than constructing a “multi-use event center” on site.
What’s clear is 2016 was just the beginning for the revitalized Showboat, and it’s likely to shake things up in AC more in 2017 and beyond.