Atlantic City - The New Jersey Casino Control Commission today extended the sale deadline of the Tropicana casino here until April 30. The commission also gave the casino's trustee and a group of lenders until March 30 to make final an agreement that would clear the way for a bankruptcy auction of the casino. Gary Stein, Tropicana trustee and a former New Jersey Supreme Court justice, has been trying to sell the casino since December 2007...

Atlantic City's gaming slump has not only punished the casinos, but also the state agency that regulates the USD 4.5 billion industry. The Casino Control Commission has been forced into doing more with less amid the economic crisis that has hurt gaming operators and their vendors. Its operating budget has flatlined at USD 29.1 million. A virtual hiring freeze, combined with a cost-cutting, early-retirement program for state government workers in recent years...

Atlantic City - The Casino Control Commission Wednesday denied a request by the Tropicana conservator to defer payment of the largest fine ever imposed for regulatory misconduct. Gary Stein, who is overseeing the sale of the casino, wanted the USD 750,000 penalty imposed Dec. 12 to be put on hold until the Tropicana sale closes. The commission fined Tropicana and its former owner...