Filipina expat in Dubai reveals first wish after Dh5m UAE Lottery win: a special trip with her daughter

Dubai: Thirteen years ago, Zenn Ariane Garceles left the Philippines with one goal in mind: to fund her sister's education. Today, as The UAE Lottery's first female millionaire, that same instinct to invest in family is shaping how she plans to spend her Dh5 million prize, starting with a wish she has revealed for the first time.

The 38-year-old, who has called Dubai home for over a decade, told Gulf News that alongside sitting down with her husband and children over takeout, there is one more thing she is determined to do before anything else: give her daughter a trip she has wanted for a long time.

Zenn won the Dh5 million second prize in The UAE Lottery's Lucky Day Draw on August 15, becoming the third player in the game's history to claim that amount and the first woman to do so.

Her win came shortly after two Dh30 million grand prizes were claimed within five weeks of each other, taking total payouts across the three wins to Dh65 million over a three-month period, according to The UAE Lottery.

Zenn first arrived in the UAE not just to build a career, but to support her family and help fund her younger sister's education back home.

"I originally came to the UAE looking for a good job and also wanted to support my family and my sister's education," she said.

That chapter of her life has now come full circle. A former dental assistant turned stay-at-home mother, Zenn said one of her clearest priorities for the Dh5 million is investing in her own children's education, the very thing that first brought her to Dubai in service of someone else.

While bigger plans such as an apartment and a family business are on her list, Zenn said the first thing she wants to do has nothing to do with money management.

"The first thing I will do? Go to Disneyland. I will make my daughter’s dream come true because that's something she has wanted to experience for long," she said, adding that the family's early celebrations will otherwise be simple.

"We love doing simple things together – ordering takeout, sitting together and talking about life."

Zenn confirmed the Dh5 million ticket was hers alone. "The Dh5 million winning ticket was played by me only," she said, meaning she has no one to share the prize with. It was an Easy Pick ticket, with numbers generated at random rather than chosen by her.

The discovery came after 2am, while her husband and children were asleep and she was scrolling through Instagram. She noticed a post about someone winning Dh5 million and, out of curiosity, logged into her account to check, only to find a congratulations message waiting for her. Struggling to process it, she woke her husband and asked him how many zeros were on the screen, before he confirmed there were six.

Among the first people she told was her father in the Philippines. "Being able to call him and share such an important moment with him was very special to me," she said.

She now hopes to bring her family over from the Philippines for a visit.

Zenn said Dubai remains home and she has no plans to return to the Philippines permanently.

Beyond her children's education, her plans include exploring a family business, finally buying the apartment she has "dreamed of" for years, and getting her husband a car. She said she also hopes to eventually help others, while continuing to play The UAE Lottery responsibly. "It's important to be wise about how we spend our money and to never go beyond our limits," she said.

The UAE Lottery's Lucky Day Draw is held every Wednesday and Saturday, offering a Dh30 million grand prize and a Dh5 million second prize among other tiers. All its games are regulated by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).