Gov. David Paterson today continued to try to beat back questions about his selection of the politically connected Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) to operate the video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said in a letter to Paterson said “last week you called me to personally and strongly recommend the selection of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) for the video lottery terminal franchise at the Aqueduct Raceway. I agreed to support the selection of AEG contingent upon four conditions to be expressed in a memorandum of understanding.”

Those conditions include a $300 million upfront licensing fee.

But Paterson said in a statement today that the deal was reached “in a unanimous decision reached through the equal votes of the leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly, and myself. Each leader had equal statutory authority, equal responsibility and is equally accountable in this selection.”

Here’s the bullet points put out by Paterson today on the deal:

—AEG was selected to operate video lottery terminals at Aqueduct racetrack in a unanimous decision reached through the equal votes of the leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly, and myself. Each leader had equal statutory authority, equal responsibility and is equally accountable in this selection.

“AEG has both the financial viability and ability to pay the required upfront licensing fee. AEG complied with every request made during the review process and addressed satisfactorily all matters related to licensability. AEG’s compensation to the State, both in the short term and the long term put it near the top or at the top compared to other bidders. Further, AEG’s gaming operator, Navegante, has a verifiable record for establishing successful gaming operations. AEG’s plan fits well within the very diverse and middle class community that exists around Aqueduct and its approach to operations will attract local community members to the site in the largest numbers and create local jobs for people in the surrounding area. AEG’s commitment to diversity and inclusion was also an important consideration in choosing it to operate at Aqueduct.

“All information about the bidders and their bids was presented to all involved parties as we weighed this selection. After a lengthy evaluation process, I can only assume that the other leaders made their decision, as I did, because AEG offered the bid that received both unanimous support and is good for New York.”