05/04/2022
Ratheesh Regunanthan, an Indian ex-pat in Kuwait, won the first prize in the Dh15 million Abu Dhabi Big Ticket draw on Sunday, and it couldn't have happened at a better moment.
The 42-year-old father of four is on leave and purchased lucky ticket number 291593 with 11 other co-workers who are among the last to quit their workplace by April 30, Ratheesh told Gulf News from Kuwait.
He claimed to have worked as a local buyer at a Korean construction company's procurement department in Kuwait. "Our company had started five years ago that the project we were working on was their last in Kuwait. The project was completed, and the majority of the personnel had left. "We're the last 12 people left," he explained.
Ratheesh, who hails from Kerala in southern India, said he and his coworkers have been using Big Ticket for several years.
"We knew this was going to be our last flight together when we bought this ticket." We knew we wouldn't see each other next month. At the very least, we hoped to win the weekly draw. But we never expected to hit the jackpot."
"Perhaps God overheard our conversation. This is a gift from God to us. Because we all live here with our families, we were all concerned about our future. We were concerned about the schooling of our children. We couldn't decide what to do next."
He stated that he had already called all of his coworkers and that they were on their way to his home.
"I still don't know the precise amount that I won...all I want to say now is that I would first build a house for my sister who is having financial troubles," an emotional Ratheesh said, his voice choking, despite saying the big award will alter his life.
When the show's host Richard called him to tell him he'd won, Ratheesh was taken aback and asked, "Really?" followed by a succession of "Thank you."
"I'm overjoyed," he replied and inquired if he needed to travel to Abu Dhabi to collect his prize.
Missing winner of Dh250, 000 picks Dh1m winner
The Big Ticket also tracked down a missing Dh250, 000 winners from a previous draw, which began 30 minutes later at 8 pm owing to Ramadan. According to the Big Ticket organizers, Sreedharan was chosen as the winner among all those who purchased a Big Ticket between January and December 2021.
"All ticket holders were given a second chance to enter a special lottery," one of the organizers told Gulf News.
However, when the draw was made in January 2022, Sreedharan was unable to be reached, prompting the organizers to turn to the audience for assistance.
Richard stated that Sreedharan had left the UAE for India and was tracked down with the help of a Malayalam television channel.
Sreedharan, who took part in the draw on Sunday, said he had no idea he had won the reward. He also chose the winner of the Dh1 million-second prizes. His countryman Sajeesh Kuruppath was the lucky winner of ticket 171563.