This will create Atlantic City’s first year-round family resort.”īefore that can happen, though, the agency must decide on a significant tax incentive Blatstein is seeking for the project.
“It’s abundantly clear that Atlantic City is lacking in family destinations,” Blatstein told The Associated Press after the vote. Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein, who owns the Showboat, envisions the water park as a key to attracting families and non-gamblers, and to draw more tourists in months other than the busy summer season.Īn aquarium and a giant Ferris wheel already draw some families, but Atlantic City remains far more geared to adult gamblers. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority is expected to consider that request at a meeting within the next few weeks.īut it did give final land use approval to the project, which is to be built on a vacant lot next to the Showboat, which currently operates as a non-gambling hotel. A development agency in Atlantic City approved construction Tuesday of a $100 million water park at the former Showboat casino in a move designed to make the gambling resort more appealing to families and off-season tourists.īut the key to making the project work - 20 years of tax breaks the Showboat’s owner is seeking - has not yet been decided.
