UAE: Soon-to-be dad wins Dh777,777 in raffle draw 10 days before his birthday

Photo: Supplied

Dubai - The expat said he buys raffle tickets regularly, but has never won a lucky draw to date

Saman Haziq

Published: Mon 27 Sep 2021, 4:57 PM

A 26-year-old Dubai resident has won over Dh700,000 at the inaugural draw of UAE’s newest raffle draw, when six out of seven digits on his ticket matched those of the winning sequence.

Pakistani national Khaliq Dad, who has been a UAE resident for the last eight years, said the prize money couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Not only did the winnings make for a wonderful early birthday present — Khaliq turns 27 in less than two weeks — but the expat and his wife are also expecting their first child in two months.

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The marketing professional said he has not made any plans for the money yet, but intends to use a portion of the windfall to bring his family to the UAE.

He said: “This is a huge amount for me and it will help me change my life. I made my family proud and I want to bring my wife and my soon-to-be-born child to the UAE in order to give them a better life and future.”

Khaliq said he couldn’t believe it when he saw the email from Emirates Draw, which hosted the raffle on Saturday. "I was jumping with joy and immediately went on the official website to check the results.”

The resident, who gained entry to the draw through an online purchase, buys raffle tickets regularly but has never won a draw. He selected his own seven digits for the draw (as opposed to having the system generate them) and matched six out of the seven numbers.

Besides Khaliq, two other participants matched five out of seven digits, and won Dh77,777 each, while 20 entrants matched four out of seven digits and won Dh7,777 each.

Additionally, 122 participants matched three out of seven digits, and won Dh777 each, while 1,054 participants matched two out of seven digits and won Dh77 each.

Emirates Draw also announced the first of seven guaranteed winners of the weekly raffle draw who each took home Dh77,777.

In total, there were over 1,200 winners and over prizes worth Dh1.8 million from the first week alone.

How to enter

Participants will have another opportunity to win the grand prize of Dh77,777,777 — the largest in UAE history — at next week’s draw, which will take place on Saturday, October 2, at 7pm.

They can choose to enter the weekly draw by purchasing a Dh50 Coral Reef Polyp online at www.emiratesdraw.com. Upon registering online, participants can select their seven-digit number or have the system choose their number randomly. Once selected, each participant’s number is locked in and no one else can select the same number.

With their purchase, consumers are entered into two separate draws: the first is a raffle draw, where every week, seven lucky participants are guaranteed Dh77,777 each. Additionally, all participants will be entered into a second draw with six prize categories that include a grand prize of Dh77,777,777 when all seven numbers are matched.

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The draws will be streamed live on www.emiratesdraw.com and across the company’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

Mohammad Alawadhi managing partner of Emirates Draw, said: “We would like to congratulate all the winners of the inaugural draw. We started Emirates Draw to help improve the lives of participants and deliver on a promise ‘For a better tomorrow’. With this first draw, not only are we changing their lives, but we are also contributing to supporting the environment, with the Fujairah Coral Reef Programme being the first of many initiatives.”

saman@khaleejtimes.com