Dubai: A groom-to-be gearing up for his wedding on Friday and his nine colleagues will be sharing Big Ticket Abu Dhabi’s life-changing Dh20million prize this time, the winner of the lucky ticket revealed on Monday.
The UAE’s newest millionaires are colleagues of Indian expat Prince Kolassery Sebastian, who bought the lucky ticket 197281 which hit the jackpot on Sunday night.
Within 12 hours after becoming the winner of the grand prize series 268, Prince was back at work to ensure his celebratory moments do not hamper the workflow, especially on a day the school, at which he is currently working, has an inspection from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
Business as usual
Speaking to Gulf News amid his busy schedule, the 34-year-old said about the first day of becoming a millionaire: “It’s business as usual … I have come in for duty.”
As a facilities engineer, he is required to work at different sites, but he is mostly assigned at the school. “We have KHDA inspection today. So, it is an important day and everyone is busy,” he said, excusing himself for not talking at length.
Some of the winners also work in the same school, but were not able to meet him in the morning due to the inspection, he said.
“Some others, who live close to my place, came home last night itself. Some are on vacation, including one whose wedding is on this Friday. His girl is lucky,” said the father-of-two.
Just like him, most of the winners hail from the South Indian state of Kerala. “One is from Tamil Nadu.”
‘Our lives will change’
Prince said everyone deserved the windfall. “As I said, one is getting married. Like me, some are constructing their house back home. Some need money for treatment. I believe all of us really deserve it. Our lives are going to change.”
The group has been taking Big Ticket for over two years. “Mostly, my account is used for purchasing the ticket. Only a couple of times we used someone else’s,” said Prince.
This time, the group decided to buy two tickets and got one for free. “The ticket that won the lottery is a paid one. I chose the number because 19 is my birthday and 728 are important in my life. This number combo is part of my official phone number and my car registration number. But I never imagined it would get so lucky for me.”
Forgotten about the draw
He said he had completely forgotten about the draw. “Usually we buy the ticket towards the end of the month. But, this time somehow we decided to buy it the day after the last draw.”
When he was called by the live draw presenters Richard and Bouchra, Prince said he was informed by one of his friends who called him as he was not watching the live draw. However, he was still in doubt.
“I still can’t believe it,” an overjoyed Prince said over the call.
Will bring back kids
While he is yet to come up with a proper plan on spending the money, he said the first priority would be to bring his two children back to the UAE.
“My wife is a nurse here. Our kids are just three and six. We had sent them back home in May. I am going to bring them back here.”
He is grateful that it will help him with the construction of his house. “I also have loans to settle. I will decide the rest later. But, I will continue to work.”
He said his lucky colleagues are also equally grateful. However, none wants to reveal their identity. “They have specifically told me not to reveal their details. I have already started getting calls from people wanting to borrow money even before I have figured out how I will be collecting and sharing it,” he said, laughing.
