Payal, a 42-year-old woman from Punjab in India, has won $1 million (approximately Rs 8.3 crore) in the Dubai Duty-Free (DDF) Millennium Millionaire promotion. She became the 229th Indian to win this jackpot.
Payal received cash from her husband as a wedding anniversary gift in April, which she used to buy an online raffle ticket. On May 16, her ticket number 3337 was drawn, making her a millionaire, reported the Indian Express.
Payal has been buying DDF tickets for the last 12 years, alternating the names on the tickets with her husband’s or children’s names. Payal said, ” I used to buy DDF once or twice every year at the airport but I took exception last time when, for the first time, I bought ticket online. It was a gift that kept on giving — the cash gift from my husband made us millionaires.”
Payal couldn’t believe her ears when she heard from the DDF team. She plans to use the money for her children’s future and to help her brother in Australia. She also expressed a desire to do charity work within the Punjabi community. “Thank you, Dubai Duty-Free, for fulfilling my dream of winning your promotion. This will go a long way,” she said.
In the same draw series, a 48-year-old English woman also won $1 million with a ticket she bought on her way to Bahrain. Additionally, an Emirati won a Mercedes Benz SL55 car with an online ticket, a Saudi Arabia-based man won a Range Rover Sport Dynamic HSE P400, and an Indian-origin man won an Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory motorbike. Earlier this year, another Indian man reportedly won Rs.44 crore in a UAE lottery.