The NYC OTB bailout bill has failed, with supporters coming up three votes short of the 32 mark necessary to pass the measure approved by the Assembly during last week’s special session.

The final vote: 29-21.

That’s 50 senators, which means 10 were missing from the chamber (the late Tom Morahan’s seat is vacant until January when Senator-elect David Carlucci takes office, and former Sen. Vincent Leibell resigned prior to pleading guilty to federal corruption charges).

Several were excused, including Senate President Malcolm Smith (in China), Sen. Tom Libous, Sen. Steve Saland.

Absent were: Sens. John DeFrancisco, Ruben Diaz Sr., Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr., Hugh Farley (although his office insisted he would be on the floor for the vote), Liz Krueger, and Kevin Parker (who we were told was en route to Albany after being found guilty by a jury earlier today on two misdemeanor charges).

(I know I’m missing someone in there. I’ll update when I can figure out who. UPDATE: It was Sen. Bill Larkin, who was excused).

A few choice quotes from the floor debate:

Sen. Andy Lanza, a Staten Island Republican who proposed the compromise bill that includes suburban and regional OTBs, addressing the (not present) NYC OTB Chairman/secretary to the governor Larry Schwartz:

“If you really want to solve this problem then you’ve got to do it in a comprehensive and thoughtful fashion. The take it or leave it option we’re being given here is merely a temporary stay of execution.”

“…There’s no reason for you to pull the plug. No legal reason, no actual reason for that to happen. That’s a bunch of baloney. So let’s sit down, my friends across the aisle, and get it right.”

Sen. Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, who voted “yes” and addressed some of his constituents, who I believe are DC37 members and NYC OTB employees and were sitting the Senate balcony:

“There are not layoffs, but actual terminations. Today, by this vote, this body, by rejecting this bill, does not lay these people off but they fire them. And by doing that, they take an entire industry and throw it into the toilet bowl.”

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