The overseer, former state Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein, had requested the extension because he was concerned that bids had been too low. Stein was put in charge of the Tropicana after its former owner, Columbia-Sussex Corp., of Fort Mitchell, Ky., was stripped of its license in December.

He now has 120 days to get a better deal - what he terms "fair-market value," without disclosing a specific number.

"I am satisfied that there is good cause to afford Justice Stein . . . an additional 120 days" to sell the casino, commission chairwoman Linda Kassekert said after the commission's 5-0 vote yesterday afternoon.

This was the second extension granted to Stein, who was originally to have sold the casino by April 10 - a deadline extended by the commission to June 9.

Kassekert yesterday gave Stein until July 8 to submit a "comprehensive plan" for seeking new bids on the Tropicana.

Kassekert said that plan would be considered at the commission's next public hearing, July 16.

Stein said after yesterday's hearing: "I'm very pleased . . . I think this is a realistic time period, and we will work within it."

In earlier hearings, he had argued that the bankruptcy filing by Columbia-Sussex in early May had significantly lowered bids for the Tropicana.

"It's clear the bids we received in May were not close," Stein told the five-member gaming board June 4 in pleading his case for an extension.

Stein has publicly stated that since the bidding began in January, he has received "several dozen" offers and hoped to fetch $1 billion or more for the casino.

Yesterday, he said was still aiming to get "fair-market value" for the casino, but he declined to give a specific number.

Kassekert noted in her ruling that "none of the existing bidders had offered what [Stein] viewed as fair-market value."

At least four bidders have confirmed they submitted offers: New York developer Joseph Palladino; Colony Capital L.L.C., of Los Angeles, whose subsidiary owns the Atlantic City Hilton and Resorts casinos on the Boardwalk; a partnership between former Tropicana executive Dennis Gomes and Baltimore-based Cordish Co., which developed the Walk outlet mall in Atlantic City; and Planet Hollywood, which owns a casino of the same name on the Las Vegas Strip.

For the Tropicana, it has been a turbulent year as the business seeks a new buyer and tries to regain its footing. As recently as two years ago, the casino - with its popular Quarter megacomplex - was considered one of the biggest and most successful gambling halls in Atlantic City.

The fallout from the de-licensing of its former owner and the publicity it generated have hurt business. Total revenue from slot machines and table games from January to May of this year is down 10.7 percent from the same period a year ago, the largest decline among Atlantic City's 11 casinos.

On Monday, an executive at a crosstown rival, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and two others who had worked with him while he was employed at the Tropicana were indicted. They were accused of stealing a customer database list from their former employer with the names, addresses, phone numbers and spending levels of more than 20,000 of the Tropicana's best customers.

Tropicana's rated-player list had an assessed value of more than $108 million, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

As part of its decision yesterday to restart the bidding, the gambling commission upheld a requirement it imposed two weeks ago that the Tropicana maintain at least $19 million in its cash reserves.

In addition, the commission decided to hold a special meeting June 30 to consider a request from Stein to retain another financial adviser to assist him in selling the casino.