By Liz Benston

Published Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 5:30 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:15 a.m.

If you couldn't come up with the dough for a prized Atlantic City casino, now's your chance.

As expected, New Jersey regulators are extending today's deadline for the sale of the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City by another 120 days because none of the prospective bidders had offered what a state-appointed conservator believed was "fair market value" for the property.

Thus, existing bids will be dropped and the sale process will begin all over again.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission stripped Columbia Sussex of its gaming license at the Atlantic City Tropicana last year, saying the company was unfit to operate a first class facility. A probe by Nevada regulators into the company's gaming violations in New Jersey and its operations here is ongoing.

While the consumer slowdown and crippled credit markets haven't let up just yet, there's less fear of the unknown that there was a few months ago now that analysts are predicting a more prolonged downturn than at first expected.

Giving bidders more time to arrange financing and allowing newcomers to evaluate the property could yield a better price. Or it could be wishful thinking.