Is Bart Blatstein good for Atlantic City?

By Scott Cronick

Let’s say – to put it mildly – I was a Bart Blatstein pessimist.

For years.

On a personal level, we would share brief interactions at events, but I never really conversed with him, and my interactions with him were far from dazzling.

Despite my professional admiration for him – the real estate developer is not only wealthy but single-handedly changed neighborhoods in Philadelphia, specifically Northern Liberties – I thought he was pompous and unrelatable.

I soured on him after he bought the former Pier at Caesars in 2015, renaming it The Playground and eventually selling it back to Caesars two years ago after the once-thriving mall lost the Apple store, most retail stores and all of its restaurants.

In 2016, he purchased the 1.4-million-square-foot Showboat for $23 million from Stockton University, at that time saying he wanted to eventually find a way around the deed restriction an add another casino … something the city certainly didn’t – and doesn’t need.

I was further perturbed by his decision to buy the Garden Pier for $1.5 million, forcing the Atlantic City Historical Museum and the Atlantic City Art Center to close and relocate. At the time, he promised a “multifaceted entertainment destination with art, music and food. It still sits empty, but at one point had a makeshift bar outside that quickly failed.

Earlier this year, when Blatstein announced he would build a $100 million indoor/outdoor waterpark on land he owns between Showboat and Ocean Casino Resort, I was skeptical, particularly when he was asking for county assistance to help finance it. In fact, my words were: “I will believe it when my fat ass goes down the waterslide.”

Well, it looks like my fat ass will be sliding this summer as Blatstein’s project – now funded entirely by him with private investors – is ahead of schedule and will be open early next summer. Drive by and it’s impossible not to be impressed by its progress and that we will soon have a huge family destination on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

I will take it a step further to say that I was wrong about Bart Blatstein and have come to the decision that he IS good for Atlantic City.

That eye-opening moment came when my Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall partner Mark Callazzo arranged a lunch to make peace between me and Blatstein. After an hour, Blatstein’s staff and Callazzo left, leaving me and Blatstein to sit for another hour and a half.

In that span, I learned Blatstein isn’t pompous, he’s confident. And under that sometimes shielded persona, Blatstein cares about Atlantic City.

In that conversation, the more I learned about Blatstein’s decisions, they made perfect business sense. There are two sides to this story, and here’s why I changed my mind about Bart Blatstein:

Blatstein wanted to make The Playground a success, but a former Caesars executive made Blatstein’s efforts impossible, taking down all signage in Caesars Atlantic City to promote The Playground or even help people find it with directional signage. Caesars also made it difficult for Playground customers to park, and Caesars discontinued players being able to use their comps at the Playground – against what was originally promised – delivering the final nail in the coffin.

Blatstein just didn’t buy Showboat, he saved Stockton University’s butts by taking that monstrosity off their hands. Stockton President Harvey Kesselman admits regularly that Blatstein did the University a major favor by not only buying it, but paying a fair price. And, let’s be grateful: If Blatstein didn’t buy Showboat, it might be a tombstone in the sky like the former Atlantic City Hilton (Atlantic Club) is today and Trump Plaza and the Sands before that.

It took a while, but the Showboat has finally found its place in Atlantic City. The Lucky Snake Arcade is awesome, providing video game, pinball and games of skill lovers a place that rivals no other in Atlantic City. According to Blatstein, it’s the largest arcade on the East Coast.

Then came the Lucky Snake Raceway, the largest indoor go-kart track on the East Coast that is not only doing well, but is a hell of a lot of fun. There’s also a mini golf course, axe throwing and more. The Showboat is truly a family destination, and Atlantic City has never had anything like it before.

When the Island Waterpark opens next summer, expect renovated rooms and family suites to sleep up to 10 people. The rooms definitely need some upgrades, so this is another plus. This waterpark will be a game-changer for Atlantic City – year round!

Blatstein also promises new restaurants will debut when the waterpark opens, as well. What those restaurants will be remains to be seen, but with a major waterpark, he should take advantage of that and bring in a big family culinary brand, maybe even lure the Rainforest Café to relocate or find another themed brand that wants to be part of what Blatstein is building there.

As for the Garden Pier, the jury remains out. Blatstein promises me that he has ideas in the works. So, for once, I will refrain from judgment and take him for his word.

Blatstein and his team are also hosting a remarkable amount of events at Showboat that might not have come to Atlantic City if he didn’t buy Showboat from horror cons to film festivals to boxing to concert experiences. Some will get mad at him because his Showboat staff is aggressively going after any and all events, even if it means stepping on other event organizers’ feet. I get that, and I would be mad if he did that to me. But Blatstein is a businessman, and when you have a huge property like that, it takes everything to keep it going when you don’t have a casino to support it.

Blatstein is part P.T. Barnum in the sense that he wants to create major events that will generate not only media attention but bring people to Showboat. He hosts an outside circus in the summer, flanked by a seafood buffet, both run by outside companies. The huge Diner en Blanc event that debuted this past summer on the Boardwalk was a huge success, drawing thousands of people. That was all Blatstein. This week, he installed a 50-foot Christmas tree on the Boardwalk in front of Showboat. It’s the first-ever Christmas tree of its size on the boardwalk, and it will be decorated with 8,000 lights and come to life 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, kicking off a month-long festival that will include everything from local singing groups to games and rides for the kids, Santa in a lifeguard boat, shopping form local vendors and more. The tree will be the centerpiece of Showboat’s Holiday Extravaganza on the Boardwalk, which will happen noon to 5 pm. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 24, as well as a breakfast with Santa 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Dec. 17, and Santa storytimes, too.

He has other ideas up his sleeve, and some of them are very aggressive, exciting and would be great for the city. I just can’t tell you what they are yet. I promised.

My new friendship with Blatstein also developed into a group called the Atlantic City Stakeholders, where like-minded business people in Atlantic City have a place to go to help change the frustrations they face every day as business owners … and there are many. Our hope is that we can solve – or at least help alleviate – those issues together as a unified group. With solidarity comes great power.

So, yes, I am admitting I was wrong about Bart Blatstein. Is he some angelic presence who is bestowing his gifts on Atlantic City? No, he’s a businessman first and foremost. Does he want to succeed and help Atlantic City in the process? Absolutely.

Blatstein calls what he is doing in Atlantic City “his last crazy,” meaning as he gets older, he has one more crazy project that he would like to see change a city just like he did in Philadelphia.

Luckily for us, he chose Atlantic City this time.

For more information, go to www.ShowboatHotelAC.com.

What’s Cooking

If you’re looking for a great place to stock up on Thanksgiving essentials, check out Cookie Till’s Margate Community Fall Farmers Market 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside Steve & Cookie’s on the Verandah in Margate. The Oyster Bar will be open. Go to SteveAndCookies.com.

The Epicurean Society, led by Ed Blake, does a great job exposing locals to great dining options in the area. The culinary society’s annual holiday event at Sofia in Margate is always a special event as they pair great holiday cuisine with Greek wines. This year’s event takes place 6 p.m. Dec. 5, and includes passed hors d’oeuvres, and courses including beet and goat cheese Napoleon, pan-seared duck breast with mushroom risotto, choice of roasted lamb loin, pan-seared branzino with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, or Greek coffee dry-rubbed hanger steak with roasted garlic mashed, plus dessert of poached pear with Frangelica custard. Members pay $95; nonmembers $110. Reserve by emailing edblake@BlakeAndAssociates.net or find The Epicurean Society on Facebook.

Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.