Dubai: We have not one new million dollar winner today but two. And they both are Indian expats from the UAE.
An Indian expat from Kannur, Kerala, has just won a million dollars at the Dubai Duty Free raffle. He is sharing his winning ticket with ten other colleagues and friends but will still get a whopping Rs7 million (Dh363,115).
Neeraj Hari, who lives in Dubai and works for a private company in the logistics department, said he has been buying the DDF tickets for the past four years and finally lady luck turned in his favour. His winning ticket number 2711 was picked from the 306 series.
In an interview to Gulf News, Hari said he has loans back in India and he will use part of the winning money to repay the debt. “Rest will be placed in deposits,” a clearly excited Hari said.
It was a big day for another Indian expat Bantwal Annu Sudhakar. His winning ticket number 2686 was picked from the 307 series.
Sudhakar, a 47-year-old expat based in Ras Al Khaimah, is also sharing his prize money with colleagues. Sudhakar, a father of two and a UAE resident for 10 years, works as a powerplant manager for UTICO and is a regular participant of the million-dollar promotion. He shared the cost of the tickets with 42 members of his team.
Surprised upon hearing the news, Sudhakar commented, “This is amazing, I cannot believe that we won. My team is very happy, and a big thank you to Dubai Duty Free!”
It was a big day for other winners as well who won in the Finest Super (Car and Bike) series.
French national, Weber won an Audi A8L 3.0, a Mythos Black Metallic in the Finest Surprise Car series number 1725. His winning ticket was 0800.
Pakistani national Khurshid Ahmed won a BMW 760 Li xDrive , a mineral white in the Finest Surprise Car series number 1726. His winning ticket was 0419.
British national Fred Faidhi won a BMW S 1000 RR in the Finest Surprises Bike series number 373. His winning ticket number is 0991. The bike is a cool white blue and red.
Meanwhile, a Belgian national, David Kingen, won a BMW R Nine T Racer in the Finest Surprises Bike series number 374. His winning ticket number is 0934. The bike is a black storm metallic aurum.
Kingen, the 47-year-old Belgian national based in Bullingen bought his ticket online. Kingen who works for the Belgium government, had won a BMW R Nine T Urban (Lightwhite) in November 2017 in Series 321 with ticket number 0031. He could not believe his luck for second time around.
“Thank you Dubai Duty Free for making me a second time winner. Since my last win, I never stop buying tickets for your promotion in the hope of making myself lucky and it indeed happened!,” he said.
The draw was conducted by Dubai Duty Free’s Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin, Chief Operating Officer, Ramesh Cidambi; Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President – Corporate Services, Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President – Marketing and Mona Al Ali, Senior Vice President – Human Resources.
Here is the full list for your quick reference.
Millennium Millionaire:
Series no. : 306
Ticket no. : 2711 (online sale)
Name : Neeraj Hari
Nationality : Indian
Millennium Millionaire
Series no. : 307
Ticket no. : 2686 (online sale)
Name : Bantwal Annu Sudhakar
Nationality : Indian
Finest Surprise (CAR)
Series no. : 1725
Ticket no. : 0800
Car : Audi A8L 3.0
Colour : Mythos Black Metallic
Name : Weber
Nationality : French
Finest Surprise (CAR):
Series no. : 1726
Ticket no. : 0419
Car : BMW 760 Li xDrive
Colour : Mineral White
Name : Khurshid Ahmed
Nationality : Pakistan
Finest Surprise (BIKE)
Series no. : 373
Ticket no. : 0991
Bike : BMW S 1000 RR
Colour : White Blue Red
Name : Fred Faidhi
Nationality : British
Finest Surprise (BIKE)
Series no. : 374
Ticket no. : 0934
Bike : BMW R Nine T Racer
Colour : Black Storm Mettalic Aurum
Name : David Kingen
Nationality : Belgian
