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Sharjah driver who won Dh15 million jackpot bought tickets every month for 15 years
Vibeesh, who has been driving across the UAE for 20 years, now hopes to settle down in India with the Big Ticket money
- PUBLISHED: Thu 5 Mar 2026, 8:35 AM UPDATED: Thu 5 Mar 2026, 8:41 AM
A Sharjah-based pickup driver, who has been buying a ticket for the last 15 years, has hit the jackpot of Dh15 million with Big Ticket. For Vibeesh Palliyali, luck came in the form of a last-minute ticket he purchased for his relative.
“I had already bought one set of tickets for Dh1,000 on February 7 when I was traveling to India,” he told Khaleej Times. “On February 28, my cousin and two of his friends called me asking to take a ticket with them. I tried telling them that I had already spent my budget this month, but they kept begging me. I took the ticket so as not to let them down. I purchased it at 8pm online. That is the ticket that brought me luck.”
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Working as a pickup driver for a transport company for two decades, Vibeesh has been to the remotest corners of the UAE. On Wednesday, he was on his way from Abu Dhabi to his house in Sharjah in the evening after delivering a load when he got the call from Big Ticket.
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“Since I am regular customer, I usually get a call from the company,” he said. “But they usually call in the middle or the end of the month saying that there are offers on tickets. I wondered why they would call me in the beginning of the month in the evening.”
He added that when he was informed of his big win, he was speechless for a few seconds. “I asked them if it was a prank call even though I knew it wasn’t,” he said. “Afterwards, I called my wife and said that I got a call. She checked online immediately and then told me that my name was on the website as the winner.”
15 years of buying
For Vibeesh, who lives in Sharjah with his wife Resna and daughter Vandana, the win came at the end of a 15-year buying streak. “I have been buying this ticket every month religiously for the last 15 years,” he said. “As you can imagine, as a driver, setting aside Dh1,000 per month was a task. Many times, my wife would complain that she could use that money for other things. Some months, I wouldn’t even tell her that I had bought the ticket.”
Even though he bought the ticket, Vibeesh never watched a draw live or checked the website immediately to see if he was a winner. “Buying a ticket was just a way of life for me,” he said. “I never really imagined winning it or doing something with the money. The only wish I had was that one day, I want to win something — even if it was the prize of Dh100,000.”
Dream come true
With this win that he shares with three others, Vibeesh gets approximately a little less than Dh4 million. He admitted that he doesn’t know what he will do with the money yet. “I have been driving all over UAE for 20 years,” he said. “Now, I want to go back to India and settle down. So this money will definitely help with that.”
He said he also wants to set aside some money for the future of his daughter who is studying in the Indian city of Bangalore. “She did her schooling here at Sharjah Indian School and is now studying BBA in India,” he said. “I want to make sure to secure her future.”
He added that he has still not fully believed that he won. “It is still only beginning to sink in,” he admitted. “Maybe after a few days I will have a better idea what to do.”
