The Showboat hotel in Atlantic City is facing a lender's push toward foreclosure over more than $13 million in alleged unpaid debt, even as owner Bart Blatstein moves forward with plans to expand the property with a new indoor event center. Computershare Trust Company, which represents investors holding commercial mortgage-backed securities debt secured by Showboat, filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Blatstein and the hotel in New Jersey Chancery Court in June.
According to nj.com, Computershare alleges Blatstein owes $13.6 million loaned for the property, and says the debt stems from a $48.5 million loan Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc. issued in 2022. The lender claims no payments have been made toward the debt since April 2025. That mortgage, taken out in October 2022, covers the 475-room Showboat hotel, the Lucky Snake Arcade, and a 1,950-space parking garage — but not the separately financed residential tower and adjacent Island Waterpark, which opened that same year as a roughly 120,000-square-foot annex to the hotel.
Computershare is seeking to have at least part of the property sold at a sheriff's sale to satisfy the remaining debt, per the same nj.com report. Blatstein personally guaranteed the mortgage, according to the lawsuit, and the seed Inquirer.com reporting on the matter notes the original foreclosure complaint named five contractors holding construction liens against Showboat for unpaid work. Court documents also cite a New Jersey property lien for $401,768.99 in unpaid taxes, and the lawsuit states Showboat's state business registration was suspended in March for failing to file annual reports.
Lender Sought Full Control, Judge Opted for Limited Receiver
Computershare asked the court to extinguish Blatstein's interest in the property entirely and hand day-to-day operations to a court-appointed receiver, pointing to loan defaults, unpaid taxes, construction liens, and unresolved mold issues, as detailed by Downbeach Buzz. A Superior Court of New Jersey judge instead appointed Jeffrey Kolessar as a limited rent receiver, restricted to collecting rental income, paying operating expenses, and filing periodic reports to protect the lender's security interest without disrupting hotel operations.
Showboat has argued that displacing management and transferring operational control would be among the most disruptive remedies available in a commercial foreclosure, and said the property remains open, operational, insured, actively managed and maintained, and subject to regulatory oversight, with hundreds of employees on staff.
A judge is scheduled to rule on a summary judgment motion seeking foreclosure and a sheriff's sale on November 6. Blatstein did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
A Pattern of Liens and a Grant That Got Pulled
The foreclosure fight is not Blatstein's first brush with unpaid debts tied to Showboat. He had amassed $7 million in contractor liens related to the water park by June 2025, and a judge issued an arrest warrant for him that same month after he failed to pay a $500,000 judgment — a judgment he ultimately paid. Parker Interior Plantscape sued Blatstein in 2024, alleging he owed $1.7 million for water park irrigation and landscape work; that debt was also paid.
He was approved for a $4.2 million Atlantic City revitalization grant in December 2024, intended to expand family-friendly activities at Showboat — among the pitched ideas was an 11-lane bowling alley.
Separately, the Island Waterpark was awarded a $45.5 million C-PACE loan in December 2025, intended to recapitalize original construction debt for the $100 million water park. An NJEDA spokesperson said Showboat closed on that loan the same month. The NJEDA administers New Jersey's Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program.
Expansion Plans Move Forward Despite the Debt Fight
Even as the foreclosure case proceeds, Showboat REN I LLC submitted a land-use application for a multi-purpose event center at 800 Atlantic Avenue, according to the NJ CRDA's public development application listings. Blatstein is seeking approvals to build a temporary 143,000-square-foot indoor event center across Pacific Avenue from Showboat's main parking garage, with a proposal that includes three large tents for sporting events such as volleyball tournaments and small conventions. Showboat may add an offseason tented event center to the site as part of the plan.
The project had a land use hearing before the CRDA on October 15, 2026.
Showboat, a non-casino hotel Blatstein owns and operates, has built a lineup of attractions beyond its rooms, including the Island Waterpark and an indoor go-kart track. It also has an outdoor dinosaur park, where multiple dinosaur figures were knocked down in a recent nor'easter. Blatstein, 71, recently defeated Steve Schiavoni in a USA Boxing sanctioned Masters Championships bout held at Showboat.
The dispute unfolds against a tough statewide backdrop: New Jersey had the nation's worst foreclosure rate in December, with one in every 1,734 housing units in some stage of foreclosure, according to a report cited by ROI-NJ. Reporters seeking to track the Showboat case directly can register with the New Jersey Courts to search civil and foreclosure filings, per guidance from the New Jersey Courts.
