Sajesh NS, an Indian man working as a purchasing manager at Ikkayees restaurant in Dubai’s Karama area, won a lottery worth Rs 55 crore at the first outdoor Abu Dhabi Big Ticket Live Draw.
“We thought someone among us was fooling me by making that call. But when I got several calls from the same number, we checked online and found that the winning number was ours,” Sajesh said about how he came to know about winning the lottery.
Sajesh has been buying lottery tickets every month for the last four years in hopes of winning one of them. After winning the lottery, he was really excited and immediately called his wife living in India to inform her about the win.
At first, his wife thought it was a joke and it took Sajesh quite some time to convince her and she finally believed him. Sajesh said that the prize money will be split between some people who helped him buy the winning ticket.
When asked how he intended to use the winnings Sajesh replied, “There are over 150 employees at the hotel where I work, and I would like to help out as many of them as I can by sharing a portion of my winnings with them.”
Sajesh also plans to discuss with his co-workers as to what should be done with the proceeds as they all helped him buy the ticket. He said that everyone will have an equal right to decide what to do with their share.
Another live lottery draw will take place in December and for the first time, one winner will receive a prize of 30 million Dirhams. Despite winning the lottery Sajesh still plans on buying more lottery tickets every month.
In an interview with Khaleej Times, Sajesh said, “My experience taught me to never give up our dreams. We will continue to purchase tickets and try our luck.”
