In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, New York Governor David Paterson announced that the Aqueduct Entertainment Group would not be licensed to operate a casino at the Long Island racing facility. The statement read, "The Division of the Lottery has concluded that it cannot issue a gaming license to Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG). Therefore, the State has officially withdrawn its support for AEG to develop and operate a video lottery terminal (VLT) facility at Aqueduct Race Track. The Executive Branch advocates that the selection of the Aqueduct VLT franchisee be done pursuant to an expedited, transparent, apolitical and publicly accountable procurement process."