Twice lucky: Expat in UAE wins $1 million for second time in Dubai Duty Free draw
Online trader from Kerala, India, had previously won $1 million and a Range Rover vehicle
Dubai: An Indian expat in Dubai has won $1 million (around Dh3.67 million) for a second time in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw.
Sree Sunil Sreedharan, 55, became the eight person to win the promotion twice when his ticket number 1938 in Millennium Millionaire Series 388, which he purchased online on April 10, was drawn on Wednesday at Concourse A of Dubai International Airport.
Sreedharan previously won a $1 million in Millennium Millionaire Series 310 with ticket number 4638 in September 2019. Incredibly, he also won a Range Rover HSE 360PS car in Finest Surprise Series 1746 with ticket number 1293 in February 2020.
A regular participant to Dubai Duty Free promotions for more than 20 years, Sreedharan, who used to work as an estimation manager for a company in Abu Dhabi, now runs his own online trading business in Dubai.
“Thank you Dubai Duty Free for making me a second time winner of $1 million. I’m encouraging everyone to participate in this amazing promotion and be patient. I am certainly a proof of that,” he said.
Sreedharan, who hails from the southern Indian state of Kerala, is also the 188th Indian national to have won $1 million since the start of the Millennium Millionaire promotion in 1999. Indian nationals make up the highest number of Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire ticket buyers.
Wednesday’s Millennium Millionaire draw was conducted by Dubai Duty Free’s Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi; Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President - Corporate Servicesl; Sinead El Sibai, SVP – Marketing; Mona Al Ali, SVP – Human Resources; Michael Schmidt, SVP – Retail and Zayed Al Shebli, SVP - Loss Prevention and Corporate Security.
Luxury vehicle winners
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, the Finest Surprise draw was conducted for two luxury vehicles.
Rashid Al Mutawaa, a 41-year-old Emirati in Dubai, won a BMW 750Li xDrive M Sport car, with ticket number 0924 in Finest Surprise Series 1804, which he purchased online on April 21.
Al Mutawaa, who runs his own travel agency, started buying tickets for Dubai Duty Free promotion only last year and couldn’t believe that he won.
“What a lucky day. Thank you Dubai Duty Free,” he said.
Lastly, Purushothaman Pachairaj, a 61-year-old Indian national from Chennai, India won a BMW R 1250 RS motorbike, with ticket number 0814 in Finest Surprise Series 496, which he purchased on April 23 when he travelled between India and Basra, Iraq.
“Thank you Dubai Duty Free. My dream has finally come true, I will never forget this day,” he said.