Pakistani expat will move out of his shared accommodation, get an apartment for a fresh start
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Saad, a Pakistani national residing in Abu Dhabi, hit the jackpot of Dh10 million at the 96th Mahzooz weekly draw, making him the Mahzooz 29th multi-millionaire.
He is fond of playing cricket and wants to sponsor his team to get the required playing kit. “We used to collect Dh 20 per head to buy bats, balls, and wickets. Now I want my team to have it all in abundance."
A mechanic working at an aluminum factory, Saad was returning to Abu Dhabi from Dubai with his friends when he received the call informing him about his win. “When the person on the call said that I had won, I asked my friends Saamid and Arbaaz to confirm the number and match it with the ones I selected at the draw,” said Saad.
“I couldn’t sleep that night. It was not because I was planning what I would do with the huge sum of money, but it was the anxiety that I was in." He informed his family only after two days, wanting to convince himself that the good news was true.
Saad is the second Pakistani national who earned the title of Mahzooz multi-millionaire. He plans to start his business in the UAE. “I have not planned the nature of the business and will initiate after doing a thorough study,” said Saad, who also intends to donate a portion of the win to the Pakistan flood victims.
The new multi-millionaire selected his numbers randomly. “As I had to select two lines, my wife selected one for me. The winning numbers 5, 14, 18, 24, and 35 were the ones I selected randomly,” said Saad.
Currently, Saad lives in a shared accommodation provided by his employer. He has been married for the last four years and will settle in a new apartment after his wife arrives in UAE. “I told my wife after two days, and she was awestruck with the news and started crying out of joy,” said Saad.
Saad is the family's only breadwinner and is undertaking the responsibility of his ailing mother and sister, who lost her husband to a brain tumour last year.
“Winning such a huge amount is like freeing myself from financial dependency,” said Saad, who earns Dh 2,000 a month.
Farid Samji, CEO of Ewings, operator of Mahzooz, said: "We are delighted to see that we have another deserving grand prize winner from Pakistan, and we hope that Mahzooz can give all those who have big dreams the good life they deserve."
“Pakistani nationals make up our third largest customer base. Over 190 of them were among the second prize winners of Dh1 million, and twelve have won the raffle draw of Dh100,000 each,” added Samji.
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SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.