The show is ending for the Showboat Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. The Mardi Gras-themed casino is shutting down at 4 p.m. Sunday after 27 years on the Boardwalk.

The Showboat opened March 30, 1987 and was designed as a New Orleans-style riverboat casino with a Mardi Gras theme. It had a bowling alley for folks who needed a break from the slot machines and table games.

Its owner, Caesars Entertainment, is closing the still-profitable Showboat to reduce the number of casinos in Atlantic City. The city has been struggling with plunging revenue and increased competition.

Caesars will still own three other casinos in Atlantic City.

“The Showboat has been in business in Atlantic City for 27 years, and all of us at Caesars are extremely proud of the 16 years that our company operated the property,” wrote Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman in a letter to employees.

More than 470 of the casino’s 2,000-plus workers are transferring to other casinos the company owns here or in other states.

Showboat is one of three Atlantic City casinos shutting down over the next two weeks. Revel will begin a two-day closing Monday, and Trump Plaza is closing Sept. 16. The two closings, paired with the scheduled shutdown of Trump Plaza in about two weeks, will put several thousand people out of work.

Atlantic City began the year with 12 casinos, but before summer is over, it will be down to eight. Nearly 8,000 casino workers will have lost their jobs.

Roger Gros with Global Gaming Business Magazine believes these closings were necessary, given Atlantic City casinos have been losing money for at least seven years.

“This was going to happen sooner or later. I think it’s probably good that it’s happening all at once because you’ll get it out of your system and this market will be ready to move forward,” Gros said.

That doesn’t mean the losses will reverse themselves overnight, Gros said. The remaining eight casinos, and the city, will have to continue efforts to lure non-gaming customers.