After a buyer could not be found, the Showboat closed on August 31, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. The move was made in an effort to stabilize Caesars's other Atlantic City casinos. In June 2014, Caesars Entertainment announced the planned closure of the Showboat, even though the property was profitable. In the past decade, many improvements were made to the establishment, including a new hotel tower and a House of Blues on the boardwalk, along with a complete renovation of the boardwalk facade. In 2007, the hotel remodeled its original tower, the Bourbon Tower.
In May 2003, the Showboat added a 544-room, $90 million hotel tower called the Orleans Tower. 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.
