Two group of Indian nationals won US$1 million dollar each in the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise draw, held today at Concourse B of Dubai International Airport.
Abdul Azeez, a 38-year-old Indian national based in Dubai became a US$1 million winner in Millennium Millionaire Series 472 with ticket number 3361 which he purchased online on 31 August.
A resident of Dubai for 12 years now, Azeez shared the cost of the ticket with his brother and two friends. This was only their third time to buy a Millenium Millionaire ticket.
Azeez is father of two and works as driver/messenger for a company in Dubai
“I was super happy when I heard my name announced on the live draw on your Facebook page. Thank you Dubai Duty Free for this life-changing opportunity,” he said.
Second winner
Joining Azeez as a fellow US dollar millionaire is Naseer Arikkoth, a 48-year-old Indian national based in Sharjah who was announced as the winner of US$1 million in Millennium Millionaire Series 473 with ticket number 1617 which he purchased online on 4 August.
A resident of Sharjah for 13 years now, Arikkoth shared the ticket cost with nine other friends and family members. Arikkoth is a father of two and works as a supervisor for a supermarket in Sharjah. “Thank you so much Dubai Duty Free! This is such a wonderful blessing for all of us,” he said.
Indian expats from Kerala
Azeez and Arikkoth, who both hail from Kerala, are the 235th and 236th Indian nationals to have won the Millennium Millionaire promotion since 1999, respectively, with Indian nationals being the biggest buyers of tickets.
Wednesday’s draw was conducted by Ramesh Cidambi, Dubai Duty Free Managing Director; Salah Tahlak, Deputy Managing Director; Sinead El Sibai, SVP Marketing; Mona Al Ali, SVP Human Resources; Michael Schmidt, SVP Retail; Sharon Beecham, SVP Purchasing and Zayed Al Shebli, SVP Loss Prevention & Corporate Security.
Luxury motorbike
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, the Finest Surprise draw was conducted for a luxury motorbike.
Mohammed Najmul Hasan, an Indian national based in the UAE won a luxury motorbike with ticket number 0821 in the Finest Surprise Series 595 which he purchased online on 4 September.
