A New Jersey man who won $1 million in the Cash4Life lottery game last month says the message in a fortune cookie he read days earlier gave him a clue he was about to win big. The slip of paper in the cookie said, “Believe in miracles...” the lucky winner told New Jersey Lottery officials recently when he went to claim his winnings.

Back in mid-April, an anonymous lottery player opened a fortune cookie after enjoying a meal from a Chinese restaurant, the New Jersey Lottery says. Little did he know at the time, but the little piece of paper proclaiming "Believe in miracles..." would be fateful.

The top prize is $1,000 a day for life. It is payable as a for-life annuity (minimum of 20 years) of $365,000 per year or a one-time lump sum payment at the election of the winner. The amount of the lump sum payment is equal to the estimated cash required to purchase the annuity.

There were three winners in the drawings held Thursday, April 25 in the Florida Lottery, excluding Cash Pop. The big winner of the evening was the person who won $1,000 a week for life playing Cash4Life. It was bad news for residents playing in Florida, though. The winning ticket was sold in New Jersey.

A New Jersey man said a fortune cookie predicated his lottery prize of $1,000 a week for life. The New Jersey Lottery said the player opened up a fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant and received the message: "Believe in miracles.