Cash For Life winner, John M.

A late-night doughnut run ended with a Romeo man winning a top prize in the Michigan Lottery’s $4,000 a week Cash for Life instant game.

The player, who asked to be identified as John M., took his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of more than $4.4 million. He took home a check for about $3.1 million after taxes. He bought his winning ticket at the Marathon Gas Station located at 13200 32 Mile Road in Washington.

A regular Cash for Life player, John took his teenage daughter to get doughnuts just before midnight on Saturday, then made an extra stop that changed their lives forever. While his daughter enjoyed a doughnut, he went to the Marathon Station to buy a $10 Cash for Life ticket.

“When I scratched the ticket and saw letters where numbers should have been, I thought there was something wrong with the ticket,” John said. “I looked again, realized what I had, and couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Players win a Cash for Life prize on the popular instant game by revealing “LIFE” on the ticket in place of one of the numbers on the ticket. Following John’s big win, two top prizes remain in the Lottery’s $10 Cash for Life game.

After getting home, John called his sister to share the good news before trying to get some sleep. He kept the winning ticket under his pillow and slept 10 minutes at a time that night because he was so excited.

“I was so nervous about something happening to the ticket, I didn’t let it out of my sight,” he said. “When I showered I left it on the bathroom sink and kept the curtain open so I could see it. When I went to work Monday, I taped it to my body. That ticket wasn’t going to leave my sight.”

John plans to help others with his winnings. He is going to help close family members pay off some bills, and also will be sending his mother and sister on a vacation to Paris. He also has tabbed a portion of his earnings for the American Cancer Society.