Dubai: A little boy’s random pick of a lottery ticket on the eve of his second birthday has turned lucky for his father.
Indian expatriate Venugopal Passam is now $1 million richer after his ticket No 2643 in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw in Series 240, which was randomly selected online by his young son, was drawn on Tuesday.
Passam, a 31-year-old insurance broker living in Sharjah, couldn’t believe his luck when the ticket chosen by his son Kavish made him a dollar millionaire.
“This is my first time to participate in the Dubai Duty Free promotions and I am delighted to win it big! This is such an incredible promotion that will surely change not only my life but also the future of my family,” Passam said in a press release.
Speaking to Gulf News, Passam said: “I logged in on the iPad and asked my son to choose a number. He just clicked on one. It was meant to be a gift for him, but he became our lucky charm and it turned out to be a gift from him.”
Hailing from Mumbai, Passam came to the UAE in 2013.
Passam remembered the draw early on Tuesday. “I thought it was for Dh1m. When I got the call I asked them to verify the currency. When they said it is in dollars, I was speechless,” he said.
Sitting at his office in Karama, Passam said he has not thought about how to spend the money. “I can’t think of anything. I have shared this great news only wth my wife. It is just sinking in.”
Overseas winner
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, Dubai Duty Free also presented another $1 million cheque to Farhaan Arman, an Indian who flew in from Bengaluru to Dubai to receive the prize he had won a few weeks earlier.
Arman said: “Winning $1 million is an unforgettable experience which has changed our lives. So many of my friends in Bengaluru are now buying Millennium Millionaire tickets online and some have even flown to Dubai so that they can buy here at the airport.”
In addition to the Millennium Millionaire winner, Dubai Duty Free also announced two winners in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise promotion.
Mazin Hamed Al Julandani, a 29-year-old Omani from Muscat, was excited to have finally won an Audi A8L 4.0 after regularly buying Finest Surprise tickets for almost a year. “It’s my first win and it’s my dream car! I couldn’t be happier, you’re amazing Dubai Duty Free!” he said.
Ahmad Farah, a Canadian living in Kuwait, won a Ducati Scramble Full Throttle.
