UAE: Dh100,000 Big Ticket winner refuses to claim prize, thinks organiser's calls are fake

In a rare instance, Abu Dhabi’s Big Ticket draw has launched a public appeal to find two past winners who are yet to know that they have got lucky.

While a winner refuses to believe he has hit a windfall and doesn’t attend calls from the draw’s representatives thinking they are fraudsters, the other man remains unreachable over the phone.

On November 28 last year, Kammu Kutty bagged Dh100,000 in the ‘Red Week Big Cash Giveaway’ campaign. In the e-draw, he got lucky with his ticket number 238482.

Kutty attended the initial phone call from the Big Ticket team but he didn’t believe them. Since then, Big Ticket’s representatives have made several attempts to reassure him. They also advised him to check the official website and social media platforms to see his name being featured.

However, Kutty is certain that it’s a fraud. He no longer accepts calls from the Big Ticket’s official phone number and it has been more than three months of chase now.

Meanwhile, Sreendharan Pillai Ajith won Dh250,000 in Big Ticket’s ‘Second Chance’ campaign on January 25 this year. He won with ticket number 265264. Despite great efforts from the Big Ticket team, they have been unsuccessful in contacting the winner. Ajith has also won two free Big Tickets.

In the ‘Second Chance’ campaign, anybody who had bought a ticket last year but didn’t win was made part of an e-draw for Dh250,000 prize money.

“We have been calling him on the number on the ticket from last year every single day. We have been emailing him every single day. And we can’t get through. Maybe he is not in the UAE anymore or changed his mobile number but we need to find him. He has won Dh250,000 and he doesn’t know it,” Richard, the draw host, said.

Separately, Big Ticket’s next draw will be on April 3 for Dh15 million, second prize of Dh1 million and three other huge cash prizes. Additionally, there will be a weekly electronic draw of Dh300,000. The price of the Big Ticket is Dh500 and if you buy two tickets you get one for free.