An Indian man has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping USD 1.9 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, hours before he was set to leave the country for good, a media report said on Wednesday. Tojo Mathew, 30, working as civil supervisor in the capital Abu Dhabi, had bought the ticket on Tuesday at the city’s airport before boarding a flight to India. “I bought the ticket at the Abu Dhabi airport just before boarding the flight for India on June 24. I was leaving the UAE for good to join my wife, who got a job in New Delhi. I still cannot believe I won,” Mathew was quoted as saying by the ‘Khaleej Times’. Mathew, who is from Kerala, won the dirham 7 million (USD 1.9 million) as he was leaving for good, the report said.
Mathew said his big dream was to own a house in Kerala. “That has been my long pending dream. Now it can become a reality with the raffle money,” he said. Mathew and his friends received the news on Tuesday when they checked the Big Ticket website. Nine others won 100,000 dirhams (USD 27,000) at the draw. The winners included five Indians, one Pakistani and a Kuwaiti. Earlier, an Indian driver in Dubai had won dirham 12 million in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in April.
Nine others won 100,000 dirhams (USD 27,000) at the draw in UAE. The winners included five Indians, one Pakistani and a Kuwaiti.(Getty Images)
