UAE: Indian expat from Qatar wins Dh15 million Big Ticket raffle

Abu Dhabi - The winning ticket was purchased in January.

Ashwani Kumar

Published: Thu 4 Feb 2021, 3:53 AM

Last updated: Wed 30 Jun 2021, 2:39 PM

A Doha-based Indian expat, Thasleena Puthiya Purayil, won Dh15 million in the Big Ticket Abu Dhabi Series 224 raffle draw on Wednesday evening.

Thasleena's winning ticket number was 291310, which she had bought on January 26, 2021.

Shortly after the announcement, the hosts tried to call Thasleena but failed to connect in the first attempt - concidentally, Thasleena was not watching the Big Ticket draw tonight and mistook the call to be a prank at first.

Advertising

Host Richard assured her that it wasn’t a prank call.

“Oh! My God. Thank you so much. Really, I cannot believe this,” Doha-based Thasleena told Richard from the Big Ticket."

Listen to this story and more on 8@8 with David Light

“I feel great. Thank you so much,” she added.

An Indian homemaker, Thasleena is a former Dubai resident.

The mother of three kids hit the jackpot with her first time participating in the popular Abu Dhabi Big Ticket draw - buying the ticket on her own.

'Had never heard about Big Ticket'

Talking to Khaleej Times, the homemaker said that she had, surprisingly, never heard about the Big Ticket raffle until a friend told the couple about it being held monthly in Abu Dhabi.

“We weren’t aware of the Big Ticket. I had heard about it from a friend. So, we thought to give it a try. We were not expecting to win. It’s very shocking. We are still processing it,” Thasleena told Khaleej Times over the phone from Doha.

“We were in Dubai’s Abu Hail for two years from 2008. We have been in Doha for 10 years now.”

Thasleena hails from Kannur district of Kerala. Her husband runs a restaurant chain in Doha and Kerala.

“Our restaurant chain is doing well. I hope to use the money for a good cause. We will use it for the education of my kids. I don’t have much in mind right now.”

Her eldest son, 21, is currently studying at a university in Dubai, while she lives in Doha with her husband and daughter, 15, and one-and-a-half year-old toddler. She was actually busy with her baby when the Big Ticket host called. She missed the first call but picked up the second one.

Thasleena was neither watching the draw live nor was familiar to Richard's voice.

“Oh! My God. Thank you so much. Really, I cannot believe this,” she told Richard. And even a few hours after the big reveal, she remained in disbelief. “I am getting a lot of congratulatory calls from friends and relatives. This is shocking.”

Interestingly, all the eight winners including one who got the dream car are Indians.

The next dream draw of Dh12 Million Series 225 runs from February 1 to 28, 2021. Participants stand a chance to win the Grand prize of Dh12 million, second prize of Dh1,000,000 and six other cash prizes.