UAE: Indian expat wins Dh300,000 in Abu Dhabi’s Big Ticket draw

An Abu Dhabi-based Indian expat won Dh300,000 in the electronic weekly draw of Big Ticket held on International Workers’ day.

“I am a long-time resident. I have been here since 1990, and we are all very happy to win on May Day and during the Eid Al Fitr festive season,” said 42-year-old Roy Jacob, who works in an IT company.

Jacob is part of a 12-member group trying their luck for more than five years now, finally winning for the first time on May 1.

“We have been purchasing Big Ticket raffles every month since 2017. We are a group of 12 people. They are all my colleagues and friends. Lowest contribution per month to buy tickets is Dh50 and some pool in Dh300 to Dh400,” the expat from Indian state of Kerala told Khaleej Times.

Jacob usually purchased tickets worth Dh2,000, with each costing Dh500. With the buy-two-get-one-free offer, he will get six tickets. And at times, when the contribution drops, he would end up buying only three tickets.

“Every month, I send an email to the group with details of everybody’s contributions. And this is the first time we are winning. So, after five years, some of us, including those who gave Dh50 a month, are breaking even. Some have gotten back whatever money they invested all these years in buying tickets.”

After all these years, Jacob, the main coordinator of his group, is relieved to have finally won with his ticket number 143813.

“I am a common friend for all in the group. So, I have been picking tickets. After all these years, I even suspected if I was the one who was unlucky. Sometimes, I do get very disappointed. Even though all of us will get a small share after dividing Dh300,000, we are all pleased. This is a motivation for all of us..we will continue to buy tickets.”

“We are keeping our fingers crossed for the draw tomorrow (May 3),” he added.