The closure of the Showboat in Atlantic City
The hotel-casino Showboat in Atlantic City, which is owned by Caesars Entertainment, will shut its doors next Sunday, on August 31, at precisely 4pm, after 27 years of operation.
Reasons are the ongoing challenges that the entire gambling industry in this city of the State of New Jersey has been facing.
They have to deal with both the global economic crisis and competition from online casinos that have been appearing on the internet more and more in the last years.
The statements of the group’s CEO
Shortly after the announcement of the closure of the Showboat, Gary Loveman, the CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said that he regrets the impact this decision will have on the employees of the establishment, but he thinks it is a necessary step to stabilize the activities of the company in Atlantic City.
Since 2006, the revenues of hotel-casinos in the city continues to decline, as online competition continues to increase.
This situation led the casino operator to make the difficult but necessary decision to close the Showboat.
An unknown future for the building
Even if the Showboat has announced their final closure, there is still the question remaining as to what will happen to the building itself.
So far, Caesars Entertainment has made a few contradictory statements, the last one being that the complex will not be sold.
On the 31st of August, at 4pm, the Showboat will cease all gambling operations, and will no longer be accessible to the public.
A transfer to three other establishments
The ordinance that was issued by the regularity authority of the state New Jersey last Monday, on August 25, specifies how the closure has to be carried out.
It highlights that an inventory of all alcoholic beverages and slot machines needs to be completed before these are being transferred to the other three casinos of Caesars Entertainment in Atlantic City, namely Harrah’s, Bally and Caesars.
Other closures in the coming weeks
The Showboat is not the only hotel-casino in Atlantic city that has to close their doors in the next weeks.
In fact, the Revel and Trump Plaza will do the same on Tuesday, September 2, and Tuesday September 16 respectively.
Following this disturbing news, the Governor of the state of New Jersey will hold a summit on the future of Atlantic City next month to address the issues of the industry.
