Emirates Draw gains popularity as winners share proud moments

Khuloud Juma Al Nuaimi, Emirates Draw's first female Emirati winner, has big plans for her Dh77,777 winnings.

The 35-year-old Adnoc instructor plans to pay off a Dh30,000 debt and use the remaining amount to build a house for her family.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was watching the live stream on YouTube and when my name appeared, the first thing I thought was ‘is that my name on the screen?’ I checked my Raffle ID numbers and they matched!” Khuloud, who lives in Al Ain, said laughingly.

After initially celebrating at home, the mother of seven drove over to her parents' house to show them her good fortune.

“This is the second time I enter any type of raffle. I tried once six months ago but I didn’t win. Then I heard about Emirates Draw so I participated and left it to God. When I won, I prayed and thanked Him for winning,” Al Nuaimi said.

She also expressed her thanks to Emirates Draw and revealed that she had already participated several times for the upcoming weeks, motivated by her recent win.

“My husband is travelling with his father for medical treatment, so I participated in his name as a surprise and I participated one more time for myself. I’m going to continue participating and I hope that I’ll be able to win again,” Khuloud said adding that if she won the Dh100 million Grand Prize, she would use her winnings to build a house for her father as well as put aside money for her children's future as well as her family before deciding what to do with the remaining amount.

Al Nuaimi was one of seven winners who each received AED 77,777 during Emirates Draw's latest raffle, which was live streamed on its website as well as on Facebook and YouTube on Sunday, February 20, 2022.

Wish comes true for Saudi national

Abdullah Mohammed Aldossary, a father of six from the city of Al Khobar in the Kingdom was with his family when he found out that he won.

“I’m so happy that I’m among the winners, especially since I only found out about Emirates Draw a week or 10 days ago. I selected my favourite numbers on the website and I thought that if God wills then I might win, and I did,” the fifty-one-year-old, who works in a private company, said.

Aldossary also highlighted Emirates Draw’s efforts around environmental conservation: “Despite being a bit apprehensive at first, I was encouraged to participate when I realised I was actually purchasing a pencil and that no matter what the raffle results were, some of the proceeds would go towards helping the environment. This is also an important message I wanted my kids to note.”

He added that he’s encouraging his family and relatives to all create accounts, participate in upcoming raffle draws, and keep trying no matter the outcome because to win all it takes is persistence, multiple tries, and faith.

“Thank you to Emirates Draw for this opportunity and for making it easy to participate, it’s a main reason that encourages people from different nationalities to take part and seize their chance to win. I’m definitely going to keep participating and God willing, I may win again,” he said.

Winners to help others

Abdullah, a frequent visitor to the UAE, also revealed that if he won the Dh100 million Grand Prize then he would use the winnings to help his family and relatives as well as those in need on a larger scale.

“There’s a lot that I can do if God wills that I win the Grand Prize. The amount is really a life changing one for the GCC, Middle East and even around the world,” he said.

Newlywed Emile Hanna Karam, another lucky participant, plans to use his winnings to help some people and then use the remaining amount to give his bride a great start to their life of wedded bliss.

“It was a dream come true when I found out that I had won. I feel so happy that it’s indescribable,” the 34-year-old Lebanese expatriate who lives in Dubai, said.

A regular participant of Emirates Draw, Emile revealed that he participates weekly and that he had previously won Dh777.

“I began participating in August after my wife told me about Emirates Draw. I use the same numbers every week because they came to me in a dream and I actually won before with some of the numbers,” the engineer, who has lived in the UAE for five years, said.

Karam was with his wife when his congratulatory email arrived and his wife insisted on filming him as he read the email.

“I didn’t think too much about it at first because I thought that I had won a small amount again. I told my wife that if I was lucky, I’d have won Dh7,777. When I found out that it was Dh77,777, I began jumping and shouting in joy. She couldn’t believe it,” he said, chuckling.

He revealed that his win motivated his wife to start participating again and also encouraged his family and in laws to do the same: “We’re all excited to participate! I’m going to continue using my numbers and I hope to win again. I have so much stuff I’d like to do if I win the Dh100 million Grand Prize, like starting my own business.”

Emirates Draw a great opportunity

Fellow engineer Ayoub Yehya, a Jordanian expatriate who has lived in the UAE for 18 years, also expressed his joy at winning Dh77,777.

“I feel very happy and appreciative right now, thank you Emirates Draw for this great opportunity. It came at the right time for me; I plan to pay off my debts and possibly invest whatever amount remains,” Yehya, who lives in Ajman, said.

He added: “I’ve been regularly participating for four to five months now. I always participate three to four times a week to increase my chances of winning and now I’m more motivated than ever to continue trying my luck with Emirates Draw.”

When asked what he would do should he win the Dh100 million Grand Prize, Ayoub revealed that his first priority is to start an online trading and cryptocurrency company, like fellow winner Emile.

To date, over Dh16 million has been awarded to over 13,000 winners since the organisation’s inception in September 2021. The unique structure of Emirates Draw distinguishes it from other draws in that the grand prize remains at Dh100 million until a single person or a group of people match all seven numbers at which point the grand prize resets to Dh77,777,77.

It is the largest Grand Prize in UAE history and till now remains available, giving optimistic participants another chance to try for the life-changing amount; the next round will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 27th, 2022, at 9pm UAE time.

How to play?

Entrants can choose to participate in the weekly draw by purchasing a Dh50 pencil that will support in planting a coral polyp 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 AED100 million when all seven numbers are matched.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com