An Indian citizen living in Ajman has won $1 million in the Dubai Duty Free draw, on a ticket he bought online with a group of friends.
Jijo Pulikkathodi couldn't quite believe it when the call came in at 11.30am on Wednesday. Neither did the 17 friends he shares a ticket with. The first thing the group did wasn't celebrate – they double-checked with The National that the ticket number 4891 actually matched the number Dubai Duty Free had just announced.
Mr Pulikkathodi was too stunned to speak, so he passed the phone to his friend and co-winner, Mohammed Anas. “This was our second ticket with Dubai Duty Free, and it was worth every penny and more,” Mr Anas told The National with a gleeful chuckle.
The winners all live together in shared accommodation in Ajman and most are from Kerala. Mr Pulikkathodi works at a photo studio, Mr Anas is a pharmacy assistant, and others work as drivers, a sales manager, a store supervisor, an electrician and a courier delivery person. They had been buying a ticket together for three or four months before their numbers came up.
“This win will definitely help all of us,” Mr Anas said, speaking for the group.
The group pooled funds to buy the ticket, with most members contributing between Dh50 and Dh100, according to Mr Anas. Their individual winnings are expected to range from about Dh184,000 to Dh367,000 ($50,000 to $100,000).
For Mr Pulikkathodi, 41, the win is life-changing. He has lived in the UAE for four years and earns Dh1,800 a month. He said the news still hasn't fully sunk in, and that he isn't sure yet what he will do with the money, though he thinks he may eventually put it towards a photo studio of his own.
At home, the reaction was immediate. “My wife was happier than me,” he said. His daughters, who are 18 and four, were “over the moon.”
Most of his friends were at work when the announcement came, so the news arrived in scattered bursts of screams and shouts rather than one big moment together. A proper celebration, Mr Anas said, is still to come when they all meet this evening and the news sinks in.
Mr Pulikkathodi is the 283rd Indian national to win $1 million through Dubai Duty Free's Millennium Millionaire promotion since it began in 1999; Indians remain the promotion's biggest ticket buyers by far.
Other wins
Rohan Prakash Fernandes, an Indian national based in Dubai, received his ceremonial cheque for winning Series 554 (ticket 1710) from Cidambi. “Just have hope that you will win and keep manifesting it inside your mind that you're going to win,” Fernandes said, offering advice to fellow ticket buyers.
Yogesh Dhanak, a 53-year-old Indian from Sharjah, won a Range Rover SE P360 (Carpathian Grey) in the Finest Surprise Series 1962.
Born and raised in Dubai, Mr Dhanak has been a regular participant in Dubai Duty Free's promotion for the past 15 years, purchasing tickets whenever he travels. A father of two, he works for a manufacturing firm in Sharjah.
Meanwhile, Eser Erol, a 35-year-old Turkish national in Dubai, won a BMW F 900 GS (Trophy White/Blue/Red) motorbike. A Dubai resident since 2024, Mr Erol, who purchased his third ticket in the Dubai Duty Free promotion, couldn’t believe his luck.
“It’s my first time winning something from a draw. Thank you, Dubai Duty Free!” he said.
Another Indian living in Dubai won an Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 (Shark Grey) motorbike with ticket number 0505. Melwin Pontes is a second-time motorbike winner – he previously won an Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1100 (Black Red) motorbike in October 2025.
