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Long-time KT subscriber strikes luck, drives home new Mazda

Dubai - Waris said it was his first time winning anything in his life.

It was a double dose of beginner's luck for Khaleej Times subscriber Babar Inam Waris on Thursday, as he picked up the keys to a shiny black new Mazda-3.
Chosen as the lucky winner among thousands as part of the KT raffle draw, Waris said it was his first time winning anything in his life - and the first time owning the keys to a brand new car.
"When I got the call, I didn't believe it at first. My family and friends still don't know I won because I wanted to see it to believe it first," he said. "Now here I am."
Originally from Pakistan, Waris first landed in the desert in the nineties for work.
With little grasp of the English language at that time, he said he subscribed to Khaleej Times to improve his speech and keep up with the news from back home.
"I have been a subscriber of Khaleej Times for about 14 years now and I receive the paper everyday. It's my daily dose of news and I would consider myself a loyal subscriber." Like many here, Waris said he regularly receives calls and texts claiming that he is the lucky winner of a prize draw, but every time they turn out to be fake.
"I receive so many calls saying I've won money in a draw that I didn't even enter.
Once I was told I won one million dirham, but obviously it wasn't true. But when I got the call from the KT office, something felt different," he said. 
And when his paper boy contacted him one morning and congratulated him on his win, he knew it was the real deal. "We are good friends so as soon as he said it to me, I knew the car was mine because he wouldn't lie to me." 
Currently driving a second-hand car, Waris - who owns a jewellers in the Gold Souk - said he is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of his new car; a car he said he won with very little effort.
"To be honest, I didn't really do anything to win. When I got my annual subscription, I had lots of vouchers included in it and one of them was for the raffle so I just submitted it. Next thing I know I have a car," he laughed. Thursday's car handover marked Khaleej Times' second Raffle Draw for 2018.
Subscribers to the newspaper receive vouchers worth Dh750 (Dh150 of Lulu shopping, Dh100 of Baskin Robbins, Dh100 of Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Dh100 of Danube Home, Dh200 of Thumbay Marhaba Lounge in Thumbay Clinics and Hospitals, and Dh100 towards doctor consultation and lab tests in Thumbay Labs) by paying an annual subscription fee of Dh420. 
reporters@khaleejtimes.com