Mahzooz draw: Pakistani driver earning Dh6,000 scoops Dh50 million

Junaid Rana, 36, collected the cheque for the life-changing sum on Monday

Junaid Rana, right, pictured with his brother Yaser. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National

Junaid Rana with Farid Samji, chief executive of Ewings, which runs Mahzooz.

Junaid Rana is interviewed on his life-changing windfall.

The Pakistani driver told of how he earned Dh6,000 per month as a driver before his incredible win.

Junaid Rana, Yaser Rana, and Farid Samji.

The winner of the biggest prize draw windfall in the Gulf has been revealed.

Junaid Rana, from Pakistan, collected a cheque for a life-changing Dh50 million ($13.6m) on Monday.

The 36-year-old works as a company driver and has until now earned about Dh6,000 a month. The win has already catapulted him into the wealthiest few per cent of the population.

It was the first time in 48 weekly draws that someone has taken home the grand prize. Mr Rana matched all six numbers: 6, 11, 21, 32, 33, and 46.

I feel so happy. My family was going crazy when I told them. I do not have dreams of buying a sports car…I am just happy with my life

Junaid Rana

“I feel so happy. My family was going crazy when I told them,” said Mr Rana at press conference on Monday.

“I do not have dreams of buying a sports car. I am just happy with my life.

“I still haven’t decided if I will keep working. I might bring my family here or move back home. I chose the numbers randomly.”

The hard-working father of two has a wife and family in Pakistan. More than 30 members of their family live under the same roof.

Mr Rana found out on Sunday morning that he had won Dh50million.

“I work as a driver and I was sitting with the security guy who told me someone had won Dh50million,” he said.

“I started matching the numbers and then saw all numbers matched. I was so happy … I can’t describe it.”

He said the first person he called was his mother. Mr Rana moved to the UAE as a child and lived in the Emirates here until he was 18-years-old, after which he moved back home.

He returned to the UAE to look for a job and was able to find work at Dragon Mart where he earned Dh2,000 every month.

He lives in a shared accommodation block in Dubai. Mr Rana said his colleagues and friends were asking him to buy raffle draw tickets on their behalf after his victory.

“This is life-changing for me. I haven’t decided what I will do with the money. I still can’t believe that I have won such a big amount,” said Mr Rana.

“My family were so happy when I told them … they were screaming and dancing and jumping,” said Mr Rana.

“I don’t want to waste the money but would like to do something that would be useful to my children.

Winner had Dh100,000 debt to pay

“Also, I have a loan of Dh100,000 which I have to pay off.”

He said he wished to ensure his children could attend better schools, and he may even buy property abroad.

Yaser Rana, his elder brother at a relocation company in Dubai, said he was shocked when Junaid called to give him the news.

“I imagined it may be around Dh10,000 or up to Dh100,000 but when he told me it was Dh50 million, I thought I was dreaming,” he said.

Farid Samji, chief executive of Ewings, which runs Mahzooz, said: “This is by far the biggest prize money to have been won in the UAE and the GCC.

“We’re extremely happy that luck has favoured someone after 48 draws.”

Six people shared the second prize, which was doubled to Dh2m this week as it went unclaimed in the previous draw on October 16. Each took home Dh333,333.

The total prize money won in Saturday night’s draw was Dh52,305,960.

What could you buy if you hit the jackpot?

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