Dubai: It’s that time of year again when a Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) raffle winner is announced every day.
Winners of the DSF daily raffle for one kilogram of gold and a diamond solitaire ring said they couldn’t believe it when their names were announced.
Three residents, including the father of a newborn, told Gulf News that after years of taking part, they finally struck lucky.
Anil Janardhanan, father of the lucky little winner Nithera who won 1kg of gold worth around Dh140,000 on Sunday, said he bought some gold to celebrate the 28th day after the birth of his newborn and then filled in three coupons in her name in the hope of winning something.
“In Kerala we celebrate the 28th day after a baby is born and so I decided to purchase a chain and a bangle which cost around Dh2,000. I received a call the night I was at work and I thought someone was playing a prank on me, so I handed the phone to my friend and it was also difficult for him to tell. Later that day, we figured out it was real, and they told me my daughter had won. We were so surprised,” said Janardhanan from India, who has been living here for ten years.
Binoy Varghese, an Indian logistics supervisor whose name was on one of the seven coupons his wife filled out after buying 48 grams of gold from Malabar Gold and Diamonds, said “it finally worked, we finally won.”
Varghese, who lives in Ras Al Khaimah said he has been in the UAE for the past 14 years and has always taken part in the DSF, but he never expected to win a one carat solitaire ring, worth around Dh11,000.
‘Surprised’
“I always tried, but I was never lucky enough to win. I was so surprised and in shock when I got a call from Malabar Gold and Diamonds telling me I had won… after checking and making some calls, the news was confirmed and we were all extremely happy,” said Varghese who plans to give the ring to his wife.
Emirati national Eman Mohammad, 36, was also a winner this DSF after buying a ring for herself from Malabar Gold and Diamonds and filling in all the coupons under her name.
“It’s the first time I have participated in a gold draw, and it is also the first time I decided to fill in all the coupons under my name. I usually write up the coupons under my children’s’ names. I must say, it was something I never expected to happen, and I was so satisfied with the way the prize was handed to me,” said Eman, who won one kilogram of gold.
This DSF the biggest gold and jewellery promotion is taking place with Dh15 million worth of gold and diamonds to be won on every purchase of just Dh500.
Since the beginning of this month, one kilo of gold and one carat of diamond have been up for grabs every day including a weekly draw for five kilos of gold. At the end of the month there will be a mega draw for one prize of 20kg gold, two 10kg gold prizes and one five carat diamond prize.
The last day of the promotion will be February 1.
