NJ says Tropicana casino attracts multiple bidders

LOS ANGELES, March 18 (Reuters) - New Jersey's Casino Control Commission received "multiple expressions of interest" from possible buyers of the Tropicana Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, the conservator handling the sale said on Tuesday.

"We are very pleased with the level of interest that has been expressed by potential buyers, notwithstanding the uncertainties in the financial markets," the conservator, former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein, said in a statement.

Interested parties had until Monday to respond to an offering memorandum for the casino and its hotel - the largest in New Jersey.

Stein was appointed by the state to oversee the casino after regulators refused to renew the license of it owner, Columbia Sussex Corp, finding the private equity firm unsuitable.

Columbia Sussex acquired the property in its 2006 acquisition of casino operator Aztar Corp. (Reporting by Deena Beasley, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)