Indian wins Dh7 million in raffle draw in UAE

Nine others won 100,000 dirhams (USD 27,000) at the draw. The winners included five Indians, one Pakistani and a Kuwaiti. In January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the biggest-ever raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.

An Indian man has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping USD 1.9 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, hours before he was set to leave the country for good, a media report said on Wednesday.

Nine others won 100,000 dirhams (USD 27,000) at the draw in UAE. The winners included five Indians, one Pakistani and a Kuwaiti. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Tojo Mathew, 30, working as civil supervisor in the capital Abu Dhabi, had bought the ticket on Tuesday at the city’s airport before boarding a flight to India.

“I bought the ticket at the Abu Dhabi airport just before boarding the flight for India on June 24. I was leaving the UAE for good to join my wife, who got a job in New Delhi. I still cannot believe I won,” Mathew was quoted as saying by the ‘Khaleej Times’.

Mathew, who is from Kerala, won the dirham 7 million (USD 1.9 million) as he was leaving for good, the report said.

Mathew said his big dream was to own a house in Kerala.

“That has been my long pending dream. Now it can become a reality with the raffle money,” he said.

Nine others won 100,000 dirhams (USD 27,000) at the draw. The winners included five Indians, one Pakistani and a Kuwaiti.

Earlier, an Indian driver in Dubai had won dirham 12 million in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in April.

In January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the biggest-ever raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.