Atlantic City's former Showboat casino reopens as hotel

An Atlantic City casino that went out of business two years ago is reopening as a hotel.

Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein says the Showboat will reopen to guests on Friday with 852 hotel rooms and suites. The building will keep the Showboat name, but no longer offer casino games.

The reopening comes as union workers at the Trump Taj Mahal next door enter the second week of a strike. Workers from Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union continue round-the-clock picketing of that casino.

The Showboat was one of four casinos to close in the city in 2014 as it battled competition from nearby states.

After a disastrous sale to Stockton University and a failed effort to flip it to another casino owner, Blatstein purchased the property in January.