Indian expat wins $1 million in Dubai Duty Free draw

Dubai - Three other winners were announced in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Promotion.

An Indian national living in Dubai has now become a dollar millionaire, while three others will drive away a luxury vehicle each when their winning ticket numbers were drawn today in Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions held at Dubai Duty Free Head Office in Ramool.
Paraparambil George Varghese became the latest US1 million winner in Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire in Series 328 with ticket number 1017. Mr. Varghese is currently unreachable at the moment but will surely be surprised when he learns of the good news.
Today's draw was conducted - using social distancing and standard protective measures- by Dubai Duty Free's Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin, Chief Operating Officer, Ramesh Cidambi and Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President - Corporate Services.
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, three other winners were announced in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Promotion.
Mike McKinney, a 57 year old British national based in Singapore won a Bentley Benteyga V8 (Onyx Black) in Series 1750 with ticket number 1888. McKinney, a resident of Singapore for 7 years now works as a sub-sea manager for an offshore company.
A regular participant in the Dubai Duty Free promotions for 15 years now, McKinney purchased his winning ticket on February 29, on his way to Houston for a business trip and chose the ticket "888" which is a lucky number in Chinese.
"This is a surprise in the current situation that I never expected. I'm grateful for this wonderful opportunity, thank you so much Dubai Duty Free," he said.
Meanwhile, Darren Stanhope, a 40 year old British national based in Dubai won a Moto Guzzi V7 Special ABS (Nero Onice) in Series 404 with ticket number 0179. Mr. Stanhope bought two tickets for Series 404 online with the winning ticket number 0179 being his birth year (1979).
Stanhope, a recruitment manager for Al Futtaim and a Dubai resident for 15 years, has been participating in the DDF promotions online for the past two years.
"Thank you so much for giving me this blessing during this very difficult time. This is also an early birthday gift for me and I am very happy," he said.
Lastly, Ravichandran Ramaswamy, a 50-year-old Indian national based in Dubai won an Aprilla Tuono RR (Grigio Magny) in Series 405 with ticket number 0496.
Ramaswamy who hails from Chennai and is a resident of Dubai for 4 years now, bought five tickets online for a motorbike at Dh100 per ticket for the first time instead of buying only 1 ticket for a car.
A manager for a private company in Dubai, Ramaswamy regularly buys tickets online and from the airport during his travels in the past 3 years.
"I'm thrilled to have won such an amazing prize, Thank you Dubai Duty Free."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com 

• Dubai