UAE: Indian expat who moved to Dubai for Dh600 salary wins Dh12 million in Abu Dhabi draw

Mohammed Sameer Alan is on cloud nine. The Indian expat working in Dubai has won Dh12 million in a Big Ticket draw held in Abu Dhabi.

The 39-year-old has seen hardships since childhood and flew to Dubai with great hopes of achieving a better life.

“I have a large family. My father was a rickshaw driver. He raised us by earnings from driving a rickshaw. We were not financially well. Seeking to transform our fortunes, I came to Dubai in February 2004. I started with a salary of Dh600. Over the years, I learnt and improved my skills. Currently I work as a technician for automatic sliding doors and earn Dh3,300,” said Alan, who hails from Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh.

“I have been purchasing a Big Ticket on my own since the start of December 2018. My family has been very supportive and always believed that one day I would strike big and become a millionaire.”

He purchased his Dh12 million winning ticket number 192202 of Series 237 on February 27.

“I always wait for my salary to be credited to buy a ticket. My payday is 26 or 27 of every month. Also, 2 is my lucky number. This ticket had lots of 2s in it.”

Alan was doing a work at Meydan Racecourse while the draw was going on.

“I was watching the draw live, but work came up and I missed the show after the name of the fifth winner was announced. But my wife was watching it live back home in UP.”

And it was a chaotic run of events before Alan finally got the much-awaited phone call from Richard, the draw’s host. The live telecast of the show got disrupted by a false alarm in the Big Ticket studio just after the name of the winner was announced. After a brief delay, Alan did finally receive the phone call.

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“All are happy. We are all now waiting to get hold of the cheque.”

He plans to start a new business in Dubai and back in his home of Uttar Pradesh.

“I will split my investment here and in UP. I will bring my family here. I will show them the place I have been living here in the past 18 years.”

Alan won’t be buying tickets now and wishes to give others an opportunity to win.

“Let others also get settled in their lives,” he added.

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