Dubai: A former Dubai expat has won $1 million (Dh3.67 million) at the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise.
Rahul Julka, 53, now based in Port Harcourt in Nigeria, could not contain his excitement with the win. Julka, who worked in Dubai for two years until 2009, said part of the win will be saved and another part towards home and personal loans that he has taken.
The father of two, who currently works as general manager for Claridon Hotels and Resorts, said he is grateful for the win. He added that the winning money will go towards education of his children – son Shardul, 29 and daughter Julka, 24. “My son works as sous chef at Falkenberg Stranded in Sweden. My daughter Julka is pursuing her masters in public health from University of Adelaide, Australia.”
Julka, who hails from Mumbai, is the 177th Indian to win the million-dollar prize at the draw since the start of the Millennium Millionaire promotion in 1999. Indians make up the highest number of Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire ticket buyers.
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw the Finest Surprise draw was conducted for one luxury car and two motorbikes. Joining in the draw line-up was Mona Al Ali, SVP - Human Resources, Michael Schmidt, SVP - Retail Support, Sharon Beecham, VP – Purchasing and Zayed Al Shebli, VP – Loss Prevention & Corporate Security.
Other winners
Ken Ikeda, a 40 year-old Japanese based in Tokyo, won a Range Rover Sport HST 3.0 400HP (Fuji White) car, with ticket number 0704 in Finest Surprise Series 1768, which he purchased online on February 3. Ikeda, who first started buying tickets in Dubai Duty Free’s promotion in November 2020 is a father of two and runs an entertainment company in Tokyo.
It was raining wins for the Japanese in this draw. Another Japanesebased in Abu Dhabi, Hibri Hani Tsuruta, 53, won a BMW S 100 R (HP Edition) motorbike, with ticket number 0768 in Finest Surprise Series 444, which he purchased online on February 8. A resident of Abu Dhabi for 12 years, Tsuruta is a father of two and works as a head of training and development department for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). A regular participant in Dubai Duty Free’s promotion for 12 years now, Tsuruta who also hails from Tokyo said he was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Dubai Duty Free informing him of his win.
Indian expat living in Dubai, working as a driver for a private company, Noushad Theayeakandoth, 37, won a BMW F 900 XR (Light White) motorbike, with ticket number 0779 in Finest Surprise 445, which he purchased on February 22.“I ’ve been trying my luck for a long time, finally it happened,” he said.
The Millennium Millionaire draw held on Wednesday 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 and Sinead El Sibai, SVP – Marketing.
