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New way to obtain bids for Aqueduct VLTs announced

The new process to award the video lottery terminal contract for Aqueduct Race Track was unveiled Tuesday by the state Lottery Division, which issued a request for proposals on the project.

Aqueduct Entertainment Group was selected for the contract earlier this year by Gov. David Paterson, state Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) and state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), but the consortium was deemed unlicensable by the Lottery.

The Lottery said bids will be evaluated “based on predetermined and public criteria” by an evaluation committee headed by the director of the Lottery.

The committee will include Lottery personnel and a representative from the state Division of the Budget, the agency said.

The Lottery said it will make a recommendation to Paterson in made 12 weeks and the bids will be public once a winner is selected.

Paterson made the five bids public after criticism following the selection of AEG for the contract.

— Howard Koplowitz