Four Indians from Kerala bagged AED 25,000 each in Big Ticket’s first weekly e-draw for June, with the winners currently residing in the UAE, Qatar and the UK, Khaleej Times reported.The final round of winners includes two residents of the United Arab Emirates, one residing in Qatar and the other residing in the United Kingdom, all of whom received cash prizes through the lottery held in Abu Dhabi.Afthab Kodakdan, a 51-year-old businessman who has lived in Doha with his family since 2006, said one of the winners said he came across a large ticket for the first time while traveling through the airport. He later went on to buy tickets after hearing about it from friends and seeing it on social media.Afthab has been buying tickets sporadically for the past three years, and said his children are usually responsible for choosing ticket numbers.“When I received the call, I initially thought it was a joke. Once I realized it was real, excitement and happiness slowly started to overwhelm me,” he said.Another winner is Subirabdo Subir, 44, who works in a supermarket and has lived in Ras Al Khaimah with his family for 13 years.
Although he regularly participates in individual and group buys, this winning ticket was purchased by himself.“I really didn’t expect this to happen,” he said after being informed of his victory.The third winner is Savna Pothengal Qadir, 26 years old, who lives in Al Ain and has been participating in Big Ticket for several years as part of a group of 21 members. This is the first win for the group.“I’m very happy, it feels good to win,” she said.The fourth winner is Anish Abraham, a 30-year-old hospitality employee from Kerala, who has been living in the UK for the past year while his family remains in India.He said he usually buys tickets during his stopover in Abu Dhabi or online when he visits India.“When I received the call, I was already asleep because of the time difference. As soon as the news arrived, I felt very happy,” he said, noting that the winning ticket number was chosen randomly.The organizers also confirmed that three more weekly electronic draws will be held this month, with four winners receiving AED 25,000 in each draw.
