Showboat-College
The former Showboat casino, pictured here in 2014, will reopen on Friday, a Philadelphia developer announced on Thursday. The Showboat Hotel will feature hundreds of rooms, a full-service bar, coffeehouse and restaurant. (Wayne Parry | AP)
(Wayne Parry)
ATLANTIC CITY -- A Philadelphia developer plans to welcome customers back to the Showboat this week, nearly two years after the boardwalk property shuttered amid a wave of casino closures in the city.
Tower Investments CEO Bart Blatstein announced on Thursday that the former casino will reopen as the "largest non-casino hotel in New Jersey" on Friday. The Showboat Hotel features more than 850 oceanfront rooms and suites, including high-end accommodations with living and dining areas and Jacuzzi tubs, as well as a full-service bar, coffeehouse and restaurant.
"We know that this hotel with its completely refreshed look and new direction will attract new guests to this wonderful city," Blatstein said in a statement. "My confidence and belief in the future of Atlantic City has never been stronger."
Showboat closed its doors in Atlantic City in 2014, the same year that the Atlantic Club, Trump Plaza and Revel also shuttered.
Stockton University initially bought Showboat for $18 million with the goal of turning the former casino into a satellite campus.
The school's plans failed because of legal restrictions that had been placed on the property and then a sale to the Florida developer who bought the Revel casino for pennies on the dollar fell through.
Blatstein, who also redeveloped the former Pier Shops at Caesars into The Playground, purchased the former casino from Stockton University for $23 million in a deal that closed in January.
In addition to the hundreds of hotel rooms and suites, people visiting The Showboat Hotel will also have the option of grabbing a drink at the Worship Surf Bar on States Ave., getting a caffeine fix at the Canal Street coffeehouse and dining on breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Atlantic City Eatery.
ACSB Hospitality is managing the property, which will open to the public at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.