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New York Cancels Queens 'Racino' Deal With Jay-Z-Linked Group

Justin Elliott | March 11, 2010, 5:16PM

Horses run at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens. Inset, from top: Jay-Z, Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), Pastor Floyd Flake

Less than two months after Gov. David Paterson selected a politically connected group of investors, including rapper Jay-Z, to build a casino at a Queens race track, the governor's office today canceled the deal, reportedly because the investors didn't release sufficient financial information.

The Times reports:

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Topics: Aqueduct, Aqueduct Entertainment Group, Aqueduct Race Track, David Paterson, Floyd Flake, Jay-Z

Aqueduct Race Track

Probe Of Deal To Build Queens 'Racino' Ensnares Gov. Paterson And ... Jay-Z?

Justin Elliott | March 4, 2010, 11:27AM

Horses run at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens. Inset, from top: Jay-Z, Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), Pastor Floyd Flake

Authorities are investigating the winning bid of a politically connected group of investors -- including a prominent rapper and a former congressman -- to transform a Queens horse track into a "racino" amid suspicions that the contract, doled out by Gov. David Paterson, was awarded improperly.

In the long-awaited deal made by the state, a consortium of companies called Aqueduct Entertainment Group will develop the 50-year-old Aqueduct Race Track in Queens into a "racino" with over 4,000 video slot machines, restaurants, a large "entertainment center," and a hotel.