UAE: Indian expats earning Dh2,500 salary win Dh25-million Big Ticket prize

A group of 20 Indian expats from Dubai won the Dh25-million grand prize in the Big Ticket raffle draw held in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Hailing from the south Indian state of Kerala, most members of the group have been living in the emirate for more than a decade.

They earn a monthly salary of Dh2,500 and Dh3,000 as they work in the restaurant industry. And by pooling money, they have been purchasing tickets regularly for the past four years.

When show host Richard called Sajesh NS, he thought it was a prank call.

“We thought someone among us was fooling me by making that call. But when I got several calls from the same number, we checked online and found that the winning number was ours,” Sajesh said.

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]Praveen Antony noted that winning the jackpot was an “unforgettable moment”.

“We were not watching the live telecast. For years, we used to watch it live with great hope that we would win but didn’t find any luck. At times some of the digits on our tickets would match with the winning one. We have come close but never really won anything. So, we stopped following the live draw and would just check the name of the winner later through social media platforms or media reports,” Antony said.

Despite turning millionaires overnight, all of them are back at work on Friday.

“We are an hour early today as none could sleep properly. We had hope but never dreamt of winning the grand prize. It was totally unexpected,” Antony said.

Thursday evening event was Big Ticket’s first outdoor draw since 2020. The next draw on December 3 is for Dh30 million. The second prize is for Dh1 million, third prize of Dh100,000 and fourth prize of Dh50,000.

“My experience taught me to never give up our dreams. We will continue to purchase tickets and try our luck,” Sajesh added.

For the first time in Big Ticket history, each weekly e-draw winner for this month will walk away with Dh1 million too.

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• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai