One Lucky Librarian

Librarians aren’t used to raking in a lot of dough, but Toni Bonnema, a middle-school librarian, had to make the adjustment rather quickly. She won almost half a million dollars playing the slots at Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek MI.

On her seventh play on a 25-cent, Tower of Power slot machine Thursday morning, Bonnema hit it big — really big reports M-live.

Bonnema, 55, a Schoolcraft Middle School Librarian for the past 12 years, won $469,626.84 about 15 minutes into her first visit during the casino’s second day of operation.

“It was like I was dreaming,” said the Schoolcraft resident Thursday afternoon, a few hours after hitting her 8:15 a.m. jackpot. “Everyone was asking me how I could be so calm after I won, and it was like I couldn’t believe what was happening.

“I honestly thought my husband was going to wake me up and ask me what I was dreaming about.”