Abu Dhabi: A Pakistani marketing professional in Abu Dhabi won Dh777,777 in the first Emirates Draw on Saturday and plans to use part of the windfall to bring his family to the UAE.
Khaliq Dad, 26, matched six out of the seven digits to win the prize. This week’s winning seven digits that needed to be matched from right to left were 8841218.
Dad, who has been living in the UAE for eight years, is married and his wife, who is in Pakistan, is expecting their first child in two months. While he has not made any immediate plans for the prize money, he intends to use a portion of it to bring his family to the UAE.
‘I was jumping with joy’
Dad said: “This is a huge amount for me and it will help me change my life. I made my family proud and I want to bring my wife and soon-to-be-born child to the UAE in order to give them a better life and a better future.”
He added: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the email [announcing the win]. I was jumping with joy. I immediately went on the Emirates Draw website to check the results.
First win
Dad, who gained entry to the draw through an online purchase, has never previously won a raffle draw, although he regularly purchases raffle tickets. He selected his own seven digits for the inaugural Emirates Draw and matched six out of the seven digits, which were announced at the draw that took place on Saturday, September 25 at a purpose-built studio under the supervision of senior government officials.
Other winners
Besides Dad, two participants matched five out of seven digits and each won Dh77,777. Twenty participants matched four out of seven digits and each won Dh7,777; 122 participants matched three out of seven digits and each won Dh777; while 1,054 participants matched two out of seven and each won Dh77.
Emirates Draw also announced the first seven guaranteed winners of the weekly raffle draw who each took home Dh77,777.
In total, there were over 1,200 winners and over Dh1.8 million in prizes from the first week alone.
Dh77 million grand prize
Participants will still have another opportunity to win the grand prize of Dh77,777,777 – the largest in UAE history – at next week’s draw on Saturday, October 2 at 7pm UAE time.
Fulfilling a promise
Mohammad Al Awadhi, managing partner of Emirates Draw, said: “We would like to congratulate all the winners of the inaugural draw. We started Emirates Draw to help improve the lives of participants and deliver on a promise ‘For a Better Tomorrow.’ With this first draw, not only are we changing their lives, but we are also contributing to supporting the environment with the Fujairah Coral Reef Programme being the first of many initiatives.”
How to participate
Participants can choose to enter the weekly draw by purchasing a Dh50 coral polyp online at the Emirates Draw website. Upon registering online, participants can select their seven-digit number or have the system choose their number randomly. Once selected, each participant’s number is locked-in and no one else can select the same number.
With their purchase, consumers are entered into two separate draws. The first is a raffle draw where every week seven participants are guaranteed Dh77,777 each. In addition, all participants will be entered into a second draw with six prize categories that include a grand prize of Dh77,777,777 when all seven numbers are matched.
