Indian winner of UAE-based Dh10 million Big Ticket draw plans to ‘save a lot’

Abu Dhabi: The winner of the latest Abu Dhabi-based Big Ticket draw, which offered a Dh10 million prize on Sunday night, has no immediate plans on how to spend his share of the money.

Naheel Nizamudeen, an accounts representative living in Qatar, shares the win with 39 colleagues – his share is Dh250,000 (around 5 million Indian rupees).

Nizamudeen had no idea he was announced as the winner on the livestreamed draw on Sunday night. He was unreachable on the phone following the announcement, but organisers finally got through on Monday, after contacting his colleague.

The winner told Gulf News he has not decided yet what he wants to do with his prize money. “I will, of course, save a lot of the money,” he added.

Nizamudeen is not married. He has an elder sister who is married, and an elder brother, who is also married. His father lives in India. “Unfortunately, my mother died a few years ago. She would have been so happy to hear of my win.”

He added: “We are all grateful for the win. I cannot explain the feeling. We purchased the winning ticket as 40 colleagues and it’s such a relief to us. Most of us are hard-pressed for finance. It’s a blessing.

“Many people called me to ask as to how we picked the winning number. We have been purchasing Big Tickets for a long time and our luck finally changed.”

In the same draw on Sunday night, another Indian national, Angelo Fernandes, won Dh1 million. And for the first time, a South Korean national, Jaeeun Lee, won Big Ticket, taking home Dh100,000.