A group of friends had the surprise of their life on Tuesday after scooping the grand prize in the Big Ticket weekly draw in Abu Dhabi, taking home Dh12 million.
Lady luck was on Ajman resident Mujeeb Chirathodi’s side last month when he bought ticket number 229710 for Dh500 online.
The cost of the ticket was split between 10 friends from India and Bangladesh and now each will take home about Dh1.2 million.
Ajman resident
Mr Chirathodi, 49, a lorry driver from India, said he first learnt about the Big Ticket draw after seeing an advert on YouTube.
Since then he has purchased a ticket every month with his friends, in the hope of winning.
“I really needed the money and finally I won after trying for more than a year,” he said, after he received a call from raffle organisers informing him of his good fortune.
He was filling his lorry with fuel after finishing work for the day, when he got the phone call that changed his life.
Four winners took home cash prizes in the latest series 239 draw, ranging between Dh50,000 and the staggering Dh12m jackpot.
Indian resident Viswanathan Balalubramanian took home Dh1 million, Jayaprakash Nair bagged Dh100,000 and Jordanian resident Ibrahim Freihat secured Dh50,000.
Another lucky winner, Saad Ullah Malik from Pakistan, won a new set of wheels, walking away with a BMW 430i.
Big Ticket is the region's largest and longest-running raffle for cash prizes and luxury cars.
This month, participants have the chance to win an impressive Dh20 million jackpot.
Also included in the promotion is the chance to win a second prize of Dh1 million as well as Dh500,000 every week when they purchase a cash prize ticket.
The weekly Dh500,000 cash prize draw dates this month will be on May 9, 17, 25 and one next month on June 1.
Big Ticket winners — in pictures
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UAE residents who struck lucky with Abu Dhabi's Big Ticket draw attended a gala dinner. Organisers of the draw celebrated the winners' good luck at the Alexandra Dhow Cruise in Dubai Marina. All photos by Leslie Pableo / The National -
Richard Isaac and Bouchra Yamani, the two presenters who pick out the raffle tickets and call the winners, interacted with the winners. Some of attendees had won jackpots of between Dh1 million to Dh15 million, while others won Dh90,000 -
'The National' spoke to winners about how they have spent their grand prize. Shivamurthy Gali Krishnappa won Dh12 million last month. He said he wants to save for his children's future. For now, he is still working as a mechanical engineer for a stainless steel production company -
Shahed Ahmed Moulvifaiz, a Bangladeshi car garage owner in Al Ain, won Dh10 million less than a week ago. He wants to bring his family to the UAE, expand his business and spend on his youngest son's education -
Jayaprakash Mariyan Philip had won the Dh1 million prize with nine other people. The funds were split equally, leaving him with Dh100,000. He said he has paid off part of his bank loans -
Zaheenn Kausar was visiting her husband in Abu Dhabi from Pakistan, when he bought a ticket under her name. She proved lucky for her family after winning Dh90,000. She wants to pay for her daughter's university tuition and buy a car for herself -
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 5,000 people would gather during a live event in Abu Dhabi to watch the draw take place. Since 2020, the draw streams live on social media channels, bringing in even larger crowds -
Many people buy multiple tickets together and then split the prize equally. There are also those who win after buying a ticket alone, allowing them to keep the entire jackpot -
The Abu Dhabi Big Draw has been changing lives since 1992 -
The ticket for the grand prize costs Dh500
