Dubai: Antoine Labaki’s patronage of the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire for the past four years has finally paid off. The Lebanese expat is Dubai’s newest dollar millionaire.
Labaki’s winning ticket number, 3277 online in Series 279, was drawn on Tuesday at Concourse A in Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport.
Sceptical at first, Labaki admitted it took a while for him to believe the news.
“Buying a ticket online to try and win the $1 million (Dh3.67 million) has become a habit for me for the past four years. Nonetheless, I was a little unsure when I received the phone call from Dubai Duty Free today. It was not until my details were read out over the phone that I believed I’d indeed become a millionaire,” Labaki, 45, a father of three, said.
The expat from Beirut and currently the 11th Lebanese national to win the $1 million prize money said the it would be put to good use.
“Thank you Dubai Duty Free, this win will go a long way in growing my business.”
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, two more winners were announced in the Finest Surprise promotion, each bagging a luxury vehicle.
Judith Kriesten, 51, is extremely happy with the win. The German national based in Essen won a mythos black metallic Audi R8 in Series 1693 with ticket number 0556.
Subbaiah Appanderanda, an Indian national based in Dubai, bought ticket number 705 in Series 344, making him the owner of a black BMW R 1200 GS motorbike.
The draw was conducted by Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free; Ramesh Cidambi, COO; Sinead El Sibai, senior vice president — marketing; Michael Schmidt, senior vice president — retail support; and Teresite Dizon, duty manager.
