Indian Big Ticket winner to use funds to secure children's future

Dubai: Abdussalam NV, an Indian living in Muscat, has won Dh20 million at the Big Ticket draw held in Abu Dhabi on January 3. His winning ticket 323601 was bought online on December 29.

Initially, the winner could not be located and Big Ticket officials reached out to the community for assistance. In a statement, the organisers said: “If you know Abdussalam N.V with the ticket number 323601, please inform him that he is Big Ticket’s newest millionaire and he is not aware that he has just won The Mighty 20 million jackpot. Please help us find our newest Big Ticket millionaire by reaching out to the Big Ticket help desk on 02 201 9244 or email help@bigticket.ae.”

Gulf News spoke to Abdussalam on Monday, January 4. Abdussalam, who runs his own business, said he was grateful for the win. “The organisers were trying a different international code and perhaps that is why they could not reach me,” said Abdussalam, who has been living in Oman for the past three years.

The father of two including a three month old baby said a good portion of the money will go into securing his children’s future. The Omani expat, who hails from Kozhikode district, said he will use the money wisely in current Covid times. “It is a big news and I want to save it for my future.”

On Sunday there were additional millionaires. It was a big day for two UAE residents — Saju Thomas, Indian, won Dh3 million while Ejaz Rafi Kiyani, Pakistani, walked away with Dh1 million.