Dubai: Indian expatriate Sandeep Deore’s birthday this year proved to be lucky as he won a jewellery voucher, which the birthday celebrant plans to give as a gift to his special someone.
Deore was just one of the 100 lucky Gulf News subscribers who received the voucher on Wednesday as part of the Gulf News Subscription Campaign. They are the second batch of raffle winners drawn by a Dubai Economy representative this month.
The winners each received a Dh1,000 Diamond Jewellery Voucher from Joy Alukkas in the presence of Javed Malik, Territory Manager at Gulf News, and Narasimha Prasad, District Manager at Gulf News.
Deore, now 34, thought the winning was a prank at first.
“I was insistent and I asked if she is really from Gulf News, and she said yes. It’s my first time to win in a draw in the UAE so I feel lucky and happy. It’s an amazing feeling because nowadays you’re used to receiving so many fake calls,” the hotelier told Gulf News.
“It’s the best gift for my birthday so far. It’s a complete surprise where you don’t have to wait for the result if you’re going to be a winner [like in draws where you buy tickets],” he said, adding, “But without saying, my voucher will go to my wife.”
Pravin Sinha, whose family has been a Gulf News subscriber for 13 years, shared Deore’s thoughts.
“I was excited when I got the call. This was totally unexpected because normally you fill out a raffle coupon then you wait for the draw. But for this one, all of a sudden someone called us to announce that we won,” Sinha, who works in the retail industry, said.
“It’s real value for money because the moment you subscribe to Gulf News, you get vouchers that are worth more than what you pay for and this raffle winning is something additional to it. But besides this voucher and everything else, I like the newspaper first of all. I never moved to anything else.”
Sinha said he and his wife have decided to use the voucher to buy a bracelet for their daughter, Urvi, as an advance birthday present.
Like Deore and Sinha, Vishal Kondwilkar’s winning voucher will also go to a family member.
“Because this is a jewellery voucher, it belongs to my wife,” the Indian resident said with a smile.
“I won a BMW four years back during the Dubai Summer Surprises. Since then, this is the next one,” he added.
Jyoti Shah, another winner from India who has subscribed to Gulf News for 11 years, will buy herself a gift with the winning.
“I am happy that my name was drawn. I have already planned what I’m going to buy, as you know, we, ladies plan a lot. It’s obviously for myself because my husband is not into jewellery but I can also give it to my mother-in-law.”
A total of 500 lucky Gulf News subscribers have the chance to win the diamond vouchers. The first 100 winners received their prizes on February 22. Two more draws where 300 winners will win are scheduled on April 12 and May 17.
All renewing subscribers and new subscribers by May 12 stand a chance to drive home a brand new sports car, BMW 520i M, on May 17.
