The move has sparked street protests and diplomatic tensions, and prompted eight of the country's 11 Supreme Court justices to rule themselves out of consideration for the election next year
americas10 hours ago
More than 60 expats working as construction workers, private drivers and security guards, are among the winners of the four weekly electronic draws of Dh250,000 held by Big Ticket in Abu Dhabi last month.
Majority of the winners are Indian residents living in the UAE and Qatar, and have been pooling money together as a group for years now. They have been purchasing tickets through ‘buy 2, get 1 free’ offer and have finally won.
The winner of the first weekly draw is Indian expat Decrus Sebastian, a blue-collar worker residing in Qatar. Earlier he lived in the UAE for nine years before moving to Qatar in 2010.
“I am very excited. I heard about Big Ticket through word of mouth,” Sebastian said.
He will be splitting his winnings with a group of eight friends. They have been coming together each month for the past year to contribute their share and try their luck.
Sooraj Lal, an Indian expat residing in Sharjah, won the second weekly draw. He has been living in the UAE for the past 16 years.
“I have been pooling money with my friends to buy tickets every month for the past four years,” said Lal.
The group, which started out as 10 people, has now grown to 13 individuals who will be splitting the cash prize.
“I plan to spend my portion of the winnings on my family.”
Muhammed Shamnas, the winner of the third weekly draw, is an Indian expat from Qatar. He works at a restaurant where he prepares sandwiches and burgers.
Shamnas has been trying his luck every month along with a group of 30 people for the past two years.
“We will split the cash prize evenly.”
Filipino expat and Abu Dhabi resident Rosemarie Mangunay has been a private driver for a family. Each month for over a year, she along with a group of 12 people pooled money to buy tickets.
The group includes Indian and Pakistani expats working as taxi drivers, security guards and driving instructors. In May, it was her turn to make the purchase and, as it turned out, it was her second raffle ticket number that was the lucky one.
“I would allocate a sum to care for my elderly father. The rest would be spent on my three children, now aged 27, 22, and 18.”
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