An Indian expat has won the AED 15 million grand prize in Abu Dhabi Big Ticket’s latest draw – and he now wants to return home to his family. The joy in Sandeep Kumar Prasad’s voice was palpable when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
“For the first time in my life, there is so much happiness,” said the 30-year-old, according to a Gulf News report.
Prasad had purchased the winning ticket, number 200669, on August 19. On September 3, his life changed when Abu Dhabi Big Ticket host Richard announced his number as the winner of the Dh15 million ( ₹35 crore approximately) prize in a live draw.
From India to UAE
Sandeep Kumar Prasad, a native of Uttar Pradesh, has been based in the UAE for the last three years. He works as a technician for Dubai Drydocks.
Prasad has a wife, two brothers and a sister back in India. For the last few months, he had been worried about his father’s declining health.
After winning the grand prize, he now dreams of returning to India to be closer to his family. He also wants to start his own business.
The winning ticket
{{/usCountry}}After winning the grand prize, he now dreams of returning to India to be closer to his family. He also wants to start his own business.
The winning ticket
{{/usCountry}}The UP technician first learned about the Big Ticket draw through friends. The winning ticket was purchased collectively by a group of 20 friends.
Prasad could not afford to buy tickets regularly at first. However, over the last three months, he had been buying tickets consistently – and his consistency paid off on September 3.
The 30-year-old had not expected to win. In fact, he was not even watching the draw as it happened. When he realised he had won the grand prize, Prasad was overcome with emotion. “Oh, thank you sir, thank you…” he screamed.
Besides the grand prize, six other participants won AED 100,000 each.