Dubai: An expatriate from Kerala woke up Dh3.6 million richer on Tuesday after hitting the grand prize of a popular draw in Dubai.
J.I. Chacko, who works for a pharmaceuticals company in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was declared on Tuesday as the winner of the $1 million cash prize in Dubai Duty Free’s Millennium Millionaire draw.
Chacko is the 278th winner of the long-running millionaire campaign and holds the lucky ticket number 4960.
The Indian national has been betting on the raffle draw for years now and was delighted when he finally got the call from Dubai Duty Free.
“I’ve been waiting for this call from Dubai Duty Free for years since I started participating in the Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions. Thank you for conveying this extremely happy news,” Chacko said.
The latest draw was held at the Concourse D Terminal 1 of Dubai International Airport. Other draw participants also got lucky and they’re going home with luxury vehicles.
Mohammad Alnajdi, a 48-year-old Kuwaiti national scored a Bentley Continental Flying Spur in dark cashmere. Alnaidi is a financial specialist for a government office in Kuwait and bought a raffle ticket from Dubai Duty Free for the first time during a stopover in the emirate.
“I just couldn’t believe my luck as a first time ticket buyer, thank you Dubai Duty Free,” he said.
Another winner, Peria Karuppan Chelliah Frederick, an Indian national based in Dubai, will get to drive home a new Range Rover. Frederick has been living in Dubai for 26 years now. Like the other winners, he has been an avid buyer of raffle tickets from the airport retailer.
“Thank you Dubai Duty Free for such a wonderful surprise. I am glad that my perseverance has finally paid off,” he said.
Two BMW motorbikes will also be awarded to two other winners based in Dubai: Pushparaj Muniyoor, a 30-year-old Keralite, and Muhammad Maroof Soomro, a 35-year-old Pakistani national.
