Abu Dhabi: An Indian mechanical technician won Dh10million in the last draw of Abu Dhabi’s Big Ticket raffle after it announced a pause in operations from April 1.
During the Series 262 Big Ticket draw on Wednesday, Ramesh Pesalalu was named the lucky winner who took home the Dh10million grand prize.
The expat has been living in Qatar for the past 15 years. He purchased his winning ticket online by taking advantage of the buy-two-get-one-free promotion and, to his luck, received the winning phone call.
He bought his winning ticket with 10 of his friends who will now all walk away as millionaires of the guaranteed raffle draw.
Truly blessed
Overjoyed, Ramesh told Big Ticket representatives “every month, I hope and pray that I’ll win. Last month, I was only one number off from winning the grand prize; I had exactly the same sequence of numbers except for one single digit. Still, I knew that one day I would win. Allah brought me this stroke of luck during the Holy Month of Ramadan. I am truly blessed.”
When asked about his reasons for participating in the Big Ticket raffle draw, the first-time winner said: “I hope to build a house back home in India because I am currently renting. I am finally able to build my parents their dream home, where my wife, sister and parents can live.”
Big Ticket on April 1, became the third raffle draw operator to announce a pause in operations in compliance with the new directives of the Gaming Regulatory Authority in the UAE after Mahzooz and Emirates Draw did the same on January 1.
However, the latest draw was held as scheduled and Big Ticket said all winners would receive their prizes.
Customers have been asked to check its website and follow the social media channels for further update on the operations.
