December 14, 2009 -- Torrington resident Heidi Alves purchased two "Win For Life, 16th Edition" tickets on Saturday, and her mother, who was with her at the time, had a feeling one was going to be a winner. Call it a mother’s intuition, but Heidi simply couldn’t believe her eyes when she scratched her $3 Win for Life ticket and it revealed a “Win for Life” symbol on the ticket.

At first glance, Heidi thought she’d won $5,000. Upon further inspection, the retailer who sold Heidi her tickets delivered the lucky news that she’d won $5,000 alright – but it was $5,000 EVERY MONTH for the REST OF HER LIFE!

“I hugged my Mom and cried,” said a tearful Alves as she collected her first installment yesterday morning at the CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill. “It is so hard to believe this is happening.”

As a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Alves has thought about going back to school to become a Registered Nurse (RN), and with this win, she will be able to do that. She is also planning on sharing it with her family.

“It’s a dream come true, you never expect something like this to happen,” Alves said. “I’m going to stay healthy and live to be 1,000 years old!”

Alves purchased her winning Win for Life ticket at West Side Package at 408 Church Street in Torrington. For selling the winning ticket, West Side Package will receive a $10,000 Selling Bonus.

Alves is the 46th winner in the CT Lottery’s history of the $5,000 a month for life version of the Win for Life Game, and the fourth person to claim a top prize in the game this year.