Topeka ? As legislative leaders counted noses all week on whether they had enough votes to approve a gambling bill, two lawmakers were question marks: Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, and Roger Pine, R-Lawrence.

The mystery ended Thursday night when Pine voted against the proposal, and Francisco abstained from voting.

The measure failed 16-20 with four senators passing, indicating the tally could have been even closer. It needed 21 votes to advance in the 40-member Senate.

Heavy-duty lobbying went on up to the final moments, with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius telephoning fellow Democrat Francisco on the Senate floor, asking her to vote for the bill.

Pine also said he felt pressured.

“I know the way that the leadership wanted us to go,” he said.

Both legislators were elected in 2004 and are seen as lawmakers who can work with people outside their parties and with members from different factions.

“We both have an interest in education and funding education, and we both want government to be responsible to provide funding for the bills that we passed,” Francisco said.

Supporters of expanded gambling said it was needed to fund court-ordered increases in school spending.

But Francisco said she didn’t like the bill that would have permitted resort-type casinos in Kansas City, Kan., and southeast Kansas and 5,000 slot machines at pari-mutuel tracks in Frontenac, Kansas City, Wichita and possibly Dodge City.

She said her concern was the large number of allowed slots.

Pine, however, said he had decided to oppose gambling.

“I was forced to make a decision, and I weighed that a long time. I just could not bring myself to believe that that was the right answer,” he said.

Pine said he didn’t believe expanded gambling would be good for families and children.

“I really don’t want to be a part of approving more gambling,” he said.

Pine also said the Kansas Supreme Court shouldn’t have been involved in ordering school funding increases, and that the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind law were going to be too expensive to achieve.

“Those two things have really got me concerned. Until we get that resolved, I think we are really going to be in trouble,” he said.

Meanwhile on Friday, moves were made to keep a gambling proposal alive, but Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said he would have to have “ironclad commitments” from 21 senators before bringing up another bill for a vote.

Morris said one senator had committed to voting for the bill, but ended up voting against it. If that senator, whom he wouldn’t identify, had voted for it, then those who passed would have likely come onboard and given the bill a majority, he said.