The Real Deal New York

Aqueduct Entertainment Group’s bid to run the Queens Aqueduct racino was toppled not by the Rev. Floyd Flake or Jay-Z but by the group’s ties to bankrupt Australian gaming operator Karl O’Farrell, according to the Daily News. In court papers filed this week, the state’s Lottery Division accused AEG of misleading officials about O’Farrell’s connection to the project. O’Farrell had already lost his Australian gaming license by the time he was listed as an organizer in AEG’s original bid for the racino contract. When Lottery officials objected to his involvement, AEG claimed that it had cut ties. But he was apparently still working with AEG behind-the-scenes as recently as March, state officials said. A lawyer for AEG, which has asked for permission to sue the state for unfairly discriminating against the group in denying its gaming license, held that O’Farrell was not involved in the racino bid. [NYDN]