Sixty-eight-year-old Abdul Aziz gifted some cash to his wife on their 30th wedding anniversary in December. His wife decided to buy something precious and went hunting at jewellery shops across different emirates, but did not find anything interesting. Her daughters asked her to wait until the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) so as to also double the chances to win a raffle. The ladies bought a gold bangle at Joy Alukkas’ Qusais Lulu outlet. The buy got them four raffle coupons, and the couple wrote down the names of their children. It was their daughter Shalin Aziz who got lucky — she bagged a kilo of gold and a diamond solitaire ring. “We are overjoyed. It is our first ever raffle win. It is an amazing feeling,” says Abdul, a Dubai-based businessman.
Touted as the world’s longest running festival, DSF has been changing the lives of tens of thousands of people who have been visiting the emirate from around the world since its launch in 1996. Since its inception, Dh1.7 billion in prizes have been offered. This year’s edition features prizes worth Dh100 million including cars from Lamborghini, Bentley and Infiniti plus an apartment, gold and cash.
Indian national Ahmed Kabir, a 49-year-old Public Relations Officer from Ajman, has been buying raffle coupons since the first edition of DSF with a strong conviction that he would bag the grand prize at least once during his time in the UAE.
This year saw his conviction come to life. Kabir won the whopping Infiniti Mega Raffle that includes two luxury Infiniti cars QX60 and G25, and a cash reward of Dh100,000 — a total prize value of Dh500,000. When he received a call from the Global Village late at night he was busy with his company’s annual event celebrations. “I was thrilled. I thanked God for the prize,” says Kabir who plans to use the cash prize to secure his family’s future. One can enter the Infiniti Mega Raffle draw by purchasing a ticket for Dh200 at Gold Souk, main shopping malls, select Enoc and Eppco petrol stations and Global Village.
Sometimes, individuals pool in money to buy raffle coupons. And there are some who never gave up trying since the first DSF. One such happy story is that of two Indian friends.
Naushad and Rajesh work at a supermarket and share a room together in Dubai. They pooled in money to buy a raffle ticket for the Infiniti Mega Raffle and filled it up in Naushad’s name. Naushad had bought a raffle ticket last year too but did not win. This year though, life took a dramatic turn. The friends are all set to divide the grand prize and are too excited at the moment to decide what they want to do with it. “When I got a call from Global Village, I did not believe it. I called again to confirm that I had actually won the Infiniti Mega Raffle. I shared the news with Rajesh who is also equally happy but hasn’t decided yet what he wants to do with the big reward,” says Naushad who has been living in Dubai for nine years.
The mega millions that are up for grabs every DSF is a cornerstone of the prizes offered, which makes up the three pillars of the festival, the other two being shopping and entertainment. The sheer number of winners and the prizes they win is mind-boggling. The prizes since inception include Dh80.5 million in cash, 734 kilos of gold and 33 Rolls Royce cars in addition to cars from Nissan, Lexus and Infiniti.
There have been incredible instances of multiple wins too. In one of the DSF editions, one lucky winner was able to win 100 kilos of gold while another shopper won ten Nissan cars.
This year too has seen one such story. Fifty-four-year old Jehad Mohammed (in picture, left) from Jordan, who got lucky in 2012, celebrated his second win at the Infiniti Mega Raffle during the ongoing DSF. Jehad bought four raffle tickets, hoping to strike a fortune once more, and hit the jackpot for the second time. “I participate in the DSF raffles every year. I am more than happy with the win because it has come to me for a second time now. I would like to thank the organisers of DSF for offering these raffles because they can change the lives of people forever,” says an overjoyed and excited Jehad.
