March 12, 2010 -- While watching the Pittsburgh-Notre Dame basketball game on TV last night, Jerome Terry of West Haven changed the channel just in time to catch the CT Lottery’s Lucky-4-Life drawing. He jotted down the winning numbers on a piece of paper and then went back to the game. Afterwards, a single thought popped into his mind, “Wait a minute, I think I have those numbers.” And, he most certainly did.

The March 12, 2010 winning combination drawn was 05-23-27-36, and the Lucky Ball was 12. Terry, who purchased his ticket with numbers that he selected, held the only Top Prize ticket sold for that drawing; an additional 9,245 winning tickets held prizes ranging from $3 to $500.

Today, Terry arrived at Lottery Headquarters in Rocky Hill with a friend and accepted the first of many checks to come his way in the future; $2,000 each week for the rest of his life with a guaranteed minimum 20-year payout. When asked what he planned to do with his unexpected windfall, Terry, who is retired, was virtually speechless. “I was already blessed with a rich life before I got the money. This money won’t change anything.”

The winning ticket was sold at A-1 Discount Liquors on 1055 Boston Post Road in West Haven. For selling Terry the winning ticket, A-1 will receive a $20,000 selling bonus.

Since the game began March 29, 2009, there have been three other Lucky-4-Life Top Prize winners, each who now receive $2,000 a week for life: Kenneth Blount, III of Torrington, Mary Fassio of Bethlehem and Susan Dolehanty of Lansing, Michigan.