Two Indians win $1m each in Dubai Duty Free draw
Sree Sunil Sreedharan was unreachable while Lalit Sharma plans to expand his business
Dubai: Two Indian nationals on Tuesday each won $1 million (around Dh3.67 million) in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire Promotion, held at Concourse D of Dubai International Airport.
Sree Sunil Sreedharan, who lives in Abu Dhabi, will be taking home the cash prize for her winning ticket number 4638 in Series 310. She was uncontactable at the time of the announcement and “will surely be surprised to hear of her win”, organisers said.
Another winner, Lalit Sharma, a 37-year old Indian national from Chennai, won the money for his ticket number 3743 in Series 311. This is Sharma’s second ticket in the promotion, which he bought online.
Sharma, owner of Satyam Timber and Plywood business, said: “I really cannot believe this good news, but I will definitely expand my business, help my family and do some charity works. Thank you so much Dubai Duty Free.”
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, two other winners of luxury vehicles were also announced in the Finest Surprise Promotion.
Ebrahim Bitar, a 48-year-old American expat in Dubai won an Audi Q8 3.0 in Series 1729 with ticket number 1281. Bitar bought a total of seven tickets online for this particular series. A resident of Dubai for 11 years, Bitar is a regular participant of the DDF Free Finest Surprise promotion for over three years now.
“Thank you very much Dubai Duty Free! I can finally put my old car to rest,” said Bitar during his phone conversation earlier with a DDF official.
Juma Mohammad Abdulla, a 25-year-old Emirati national from Ajman won an Indian Scout motorbike in Series 379 with ticket number 0440. Abdulla, who works for a retail company since 2013, bought his third ticket when he travelled to the Philippines for a holiday.
“I can’t believe that I won, this is my third ticket purchased for this promotion, and I am just feeling great. Thank you Dubai Duty Free”, said Abdulla.
Tuesday’s draw was conducted by Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin; Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President – Corporate Services; Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President – Marketing; and Michael Schmidt, Senior Vice President – Retail Support.