Atlantic City’s Showboat Hotel to open huge arcade

Investors are spending $7m to give Atlantic City’s Showboat Hotel the city’s biggest arcade, plus a sports bar and boxing ring.

US.- Showboat, a former casino that closed in 2014 and reopened as a hotel in 2016, is to host Atlantic City’s biggest arcade.

The arcade, to be developed by Tower Investments, will host games including Pac-Man, motorcycle racing and Halo in a 100,000 square foot space that was previously occupied by poker tables and slot machines.

Tower Investment CEO Bart Blatstein said: “It’s for everybody around. There’s no place to go other than the casinos, which are great of course.

“But there’s no place to go for other things. To hang out. To watch a game. To listen to music casually. To play in the arcade.”

The Lucky Snake Arcade is expected to create 100 jobs and to open on May 15.

For years, New Jersey locals have complained about the lack of family entertainment in Atlantic City, which has always been famous for its nightlife and gambling scene.

Mayor of New Jersey Marty Small praised the emphasis on family entertainment and said Blatstein’s plans “will surely be a game-changer for Atlantic City.”

The Showboat Hotel is also developing a water park and outdoor concert hall.

Blastein previously had other plans in Atlantic City that fizzled out. He purchased the former Pier Shops from Caesars with the plan to transform them into an entertainment centre called The Playground but later sold them back to Caesars Entertainment, saying he needed to fully concentrate on the Showboat Hotel.