An Indian living in the United Arab Emirates with his wife and children, Rajeev Arikkatt won the lottery prize of Dh15 million, which is about Rs 33 crore. He won it in a Big Ticket Abu Dhabi raffle draw.
Rajeev, who won the big prize, used the birthdays of his two children to find the lucky ticket number, 037130. He works as an architectural draughtsman.
It’s been more than 10 years since I moved to Al Ain. I have bought passes for three years now. I’ve never won a raffle before. Our kids were born on July 7 and July 13, so that’s what tickets my wife and I chose this time. “I almost won Dh1 million with the same combination two months ago, but I didn’t make it,” Rajeev told Khaleej Times.
After winning the lottery, Rajeev told 19 other people from humble backgrounds that he would be splitting the money with them evenly.
“There are two groups of ten people each.” Two of us paid for two tickets together, and the special offer let us get four more for free. And each person in the group has to pay for a ticket. We will each get an equal share of the money since we won with a free ticket. The Khaleej Times quoted Rajeev as saying, “It’s a blessing.”
According to Rajeev, who won the lottery, the members of the group with whom he is sharing the sum are people who work as office assistants or in other low-paying occupations, with monthly salaries ranging from Dh1,000 to Dh1,500.
Several people have been laid off from their employment and are now facing an uncertain future. Rajeev remarked that this unexpected fortune had arrived at the perfect moment for everyone.