UAE: Indian expat from Kerala wins $1m in Dubai Duty Free’s 500th draw after 15 years

Dubai: An Indian expat in the UAE has won $1million to become the 500th winner of Dubai Duty Free’s Millennium Millionaire draw after trying his luck for 15 years.

Hailing from the south Indian state of Kerala, Venugopal Mullacheri is the 249th Indian national to have won US$1 million in the Millennium Millionaire promotion since 1999, with Indian nationals being by far the biggest purchasers of tickets, DDF announced on Wednesday.

The 52-year-old is a father of two working in IT support for a company in Ajman.

A regular participant in the Dubai Duty Free's promotion for over 15 years, he was ecstatic as his name was announced when he was watching the live draw on Dubai Duty Free’s Facebook.

“I’m delighted to become the 500th winner of the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire,” said Mullacheri.

“I’m thrilled to finally be one of the many winners it has created. Thank you so much Dubai Duty Free,” he added.

His ticket number 1163, which he purchased in the Terminal 2 Arrivals shop on April 23, made him the winner in Millennium Millionaire Series 500.

The celebratory draw marking a significant milestone for the long-running promotion that has transformed lives for over 25 years took place in Concourse B at Dubai International Airport. It was attended by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free. Sheikh Ahmed joined the Dubai Duty Free Executive team led by Managing Director, Ramesh Cidambi, to conduct the draw and announce the lucky winner. Other senior DDF exeutives were also present.

Commenting on the 500th series draw, Cidambi thanked Sheikh Ahmed and said: “The very first draw was made during the Dubai Airshow back in November 1999 and over the years this promotion has changed people’s lives. Congratulations to Mr. Mullacheri, our 500th US$1 million winner and to all of our many winners over the years.”

Tickets for the milestone series were sold out in 7 days after it went live on April 21, significantly faster than the average 20-day sales cycle of a regular Millennium Millionaire series.

A whopping 37% of the tickets were sold out in the first 12 hours. Participants in the Series 500 represent 123 nationalities, with the top three being Indian, British and Pakistani.

The Millennium Millionaire promotion was launched in mid-1999 to mark the new Millennium and was intended as a sister promotion to the Finest Surprise car draw, which has been running since 1989.

The very first Millennium Millionaire winner was Ashok Nankani, a Taiwan-based businessman originally from India. Since then, there have been 500 winners from 53 different countries, with 10 winners having doubled their luck by winning the promotion twice.