The New York state senate has approved an online poker bill for the first time, although poker’s chief proponent in the state Assembly declared earlier in the day that he isn’t likely to move a companion measure in the legislature’s dying days.

Late on Tuesday, following a truly interminable debate between S-5302 sponsor Sen. John Bonacic (pictured left) and online gambling opponent Sen. Liz Krueger (on the right), the full senate voted 53-5 in favor on the bill’s passage. Bonacic’s victory was that much sweeter given that Tuesday was his birthday.

While the unprecedented nature of the senate’s approval is laudatory, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, who chairs the Assembly’s racing and wagering committee, poured cold water on the issue even before the senate began its debate. The Buffalo News quoted Pretlaw saying that the online poker push in the Assembly was “dead.”

The state is also wrestling with the issue of whether to legalize daily fantasy sports, an issue that has significantly more juice than poker, and the legislature is set to adjourn on Thursday, so it appears online poker is simply a bill too far.