Dubai: Indian expat wins Dh10 million, plans to buy first-ever car and bring family to UAE

A mild-mannered Anish from Kerala, India, nervously smiled when he found himself in the media spotlight as he joined the growing list of Mahzooz multi-millionaires. While answering a barrage of questions from the press on Wednesday, Anish expressed his shock and happiness.

The IT engineer is still trying to grasp reality and handle an unexpected windfall of Dhs10 million as he bagged the 24th multi-million prize win at the 83rd Mahzooz draw.

Anish said that even after four days, the enormity of the win is still sinking in. When asked what he would do with the Dhs10 million grand prize, he responded, “My first purchase will be a car as I still don’t have one.”

The Indian expat who lives in Ajman and commutes to Dubai Investment Park-2 every day spends three hours daily on travel.

"I recently got to know the news (of the win), I need to think, and plan properly after consulting with my family in Kerala. I can't say anything right away as to what I'm going to do with the money," said the UAE resident of 13 years.

He added, "Perhaps, I'll buy a property or make an investment over here, or somewhere. I will use the prize money to repay my debts, help family members who are in need and, most importantly, bring my family here to the UAE to live with me.

"I want to think more prudently and take steps properly and also want to relax for some time too."

Before Anish heard about his turn of fortune, he was relaxing on a Saturday evening watching a movie. He says, "After a busy workweek, I was sitting and watching a film as the next day was off for me. Around 9.30pm I thought of logging into my account. I saw three numbers are the same, which meant I'll get Dh350 for sure. At least I'll recover what I had spent.

"Then I saw that the other two numbers were also the same. I was shocked to see that I was the top prize winner. I couldn't believe my eyes. I cannot express that day's feelings in words. I then called a close friend and requested him to confirm what I saw. Frankly, the reality is still sinking in."

Anish, who has been playing for over a year, picked whichever numbers came into his head at the moment, with the exception of compulsorily having 'one' in the chosen numbers.

Shedding light on how life has changed all of a sudden, the 39-year-old said, “My colleagues are coming and taking selfies with me. I have lost count of how many calls and WhatsApp messages I’ve received since Saturday. Everyone’s been congratulating me in the office as well. My boss asked me if I’ll quit my job. But I said No, not till they ask me to go.”

Samji added, “The celebration does not end here. At the end of July, we will have one more guaranteed winner of a 1 kilogram of gold, as we have just launched a special Golden Summer Draw where everyone who participates in the weekly draws throughout the month of July will get the chance to win 1 kilogram of gold on 30 July, at the last draw of the month. This will give all our participants an additional chance to win big and live the golden dream with Mahzooz.”