Dubai: Ahamed Rafeeque very hopeful about his future after winning not once, not twice, not three but five times in the same Emirates Draw.
The Indian national won a combined total of Dh23,415 when three of his five tickets each matched 4 out 7 digits during Emirates Draw’s latest live-stream show, a fourth matched 2 out of 7 and a final fifth matched 1 out of 7.
“I was very excited when I found out that I had won Dh7,777 three times, and also Dh77 and Dh7 one time each, thank you Emirates Draw for this great opportunity. I’m going to keep participating and I hope that I’ll win again in the future,” he said.
Debt relief
Filipina expat Priscilla Buenaventura and her husband are also optimistic about their future after the 39-year-old won Dh77,777 with Emirates Draw. The family is struggling under the burden of an Dh100,000 debt but now, they feel a glimmer of hope as they will use part of the winnings towards reducing their debts.
“I still can’t believe that I won. It was the first time that we participate with Emirates Draw and now, we feel hopeful for the first time in two years. Thank you to Emirates Draw for helping us turn our situation around,” she said. The Dubai-based couple plans to split the winnings towards paying down the debt, their daughter’s school fees for the upcoming year, and paying off fines.
“The financiers used the cheques to register an apartment under my name. Things were fine between 2012 and 2020 so we didn’t really give it much thought, but then they disappeared when the pandemic started and since then, we’ve been dealing with one stressful situation after another,” the Filipina expatriate explained.
She added: “We’re going to keep trying and hopefully we’ll win at least Dh77,777 again. It would really help us with everything we’re dealing with here and with our home back in the Philippines.”
Support mother
Another Filipino expatriate, John Glenn Robles Tahil, revealed that while he was happy to have won Dh7,777, he was still in disbelief how close he was to winningDh77,777 as only one number separated his ticket from taking home that amount!
“My group of friends and I participate every week, and we take turns monthly to purchase the entries. It just happened that we won on my turn, and actually, it was a colleague who noticed that we had won while watching the live-stream. I checked my dashboard and email and saw the Dh7,777, which made us all very happy,” John, who works in IT, said.
The 38-year-old, who lives in Ajman, plans to send his share to support his mother in the Philippines. The group plans to continue participating in the hope that they would win again soon.
Unpexpected win
Neichma Daod Nathoo, a French expatriate based in Dubai, likewise shared Ahamed’s excitement at winning. However, Neichma almost missed the congratulatory email notifying her that she had won Dh7,777, if it were not for a spur-of-the-moment decision to clear out her junk folder.
“It was such an unexpected thing to see, but I’m happy that I won because I’ve been participating for several months. I tried to encourage my husband to join me, but he refused because he didn’t believe in draws. He was shocked when I told him I won Dh7,777,” the retired fashion designer, who has lived in Dubai for 15 years, said.
Mohammad Yehia Salem, is yet another winner who got lucky with Dh77,777 draw after participating regularly for six months.
“When I first saw the email, it took me a few minutes to realise that message said I had won Dh77,777 instead of Dh77. This really made my day.
He added: “I’m going to donate a part of my winnings in memory of my mother, who passed away last month. The remaining amount will be used to finish building my house back in Egypt and furnishing, which will save me two years of work.”
First time raffle winner
Retired project manager Usama Mohamad Abushaqra was also surprised when he discovered that he had won Dh7,777, as it was the first time that he had won anything in a raffle draw.
“I’ve been participating since Emirates Draw began in September. My wife told me about it and I was attracted by the draw because I wanted to secure myself and my family, especially if I were to win any of the higher amounts or even the grand prize,” the 67-year-old Australian expatriate, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for over 28 years, said.
Since its inception nine months ago, the socially responsible organisation has distributed over Dh26 million in prize money to over 19,000 participants.
The Dh100 Million Grand Prize, the largest in the region, remains up for grabs to be claimed by a single person or group of people who match all seven numbers from right to left.
Optimistic participants have another chance to try for the life-changing prize during the next draw round, which will again be broadcast live on Sunday, June 05, 2022, at 9 PM UAE time.
How to play?
Entrants can choose to participate in the weekly draw by purchasing a AED50 pencil that will support in planting coral polyps at www.emiratesdraw.com. After registering online, participants can select their seven-digit number or have the system choose their number randomly.
With their purchase, participants are entered into two separate drawings, the first a raffle draw where every week seven lucky 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 Dh100 million when all seven numbers are matched.
