“My legs started wobbling,” says expat for 20 years who won the UAE Lottery

Dubai: An expat who has spent two decades in the UAE received the shock of his life whilst holidaying in Thailand, a phone call that literally made his legs wobble.

Stefan Zbysek Cebula, hailing from the UK, answered what he assumed was a prank call, only to discover he had just won Dh100,000 from the UAE Lottery.

"I thought it was a prank call… until my legs started wobbling," Stefan recalled, still amazed by the surreal moment.

The moment everything changed

When he received call, his mind raced to the Dh100 million grand prize for a split second. "First I thought, maybe it's 100 million. But 100,000 is good," he said, giggling at his initial confusion.

When asked who he shared the news with first, Stefan's answer was simple and honest.

"My wife, because she was standing next to me," he said, laughing at the matter-of-fact timing of his big reveal.

Defying the sceptics

For someone who had heard countless times that lottery wins are near impossible, Stefan's victory feels particularly sweet.

"A lot of people say, oh, you never win on the lottery, but you know, I've won. I want to keep playing again. It's just luck," he said, proving the doubters wrong.

The win hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for trying his luck again, if anything, it has fuelled it.