With the popularity of bowling on the decline, the bowling alley was closed in 2001, and the space was used for a new buffet and a coffee shop. In 1998, the property's parent company, Showboat, Inc., was purchased by Harrah's Entertainment, later known as Caesars Entertainment. Steelman Partners completed a major renovation in 1995, creating a Mardi Gras theme.
The Showboat opened the city's first racebook in 1993, following the legalization in 1990 of casino simulcast wagering. The grand opening ceremony featured Bob Hope and Al Hirt. The complex was built on land leased from Resorts International, just north of the under-construction Resorts Taj Mahal (which became the Trump Taj Mahal upon opening in 1990, now the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City).
On March 30, 1987, the Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center opened with a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m 2) casino and a 60-lane bowling alley. The Showboat opened as a casino hotel in 1987 and closed in 2014 the hotel reopened in 2016. The Showboat Atlantic City is a resort hotel and former casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
