Nishita Radhakrishna Pillai, from Kerala, won the Dirham 10 million (approximately Rs. 17,68,00,000) lottery in the Big Ticket raffle.
After 50 numerous attempts at striking gold at one of the most-anticipated raffle bonanzas in the UAE, the mother of two finally joined the ranks of high-net-worth individuals.
Pillai, a medical practitioner who is currently in the US, is the second person to bring home Dirham 10 million, the biggest amount granted to a draw participant since the inception of the raffle bonanza, Gulf News reported.
Pillai, who used to work as a paediatrician in the UAE for approximately two years, is currently in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two children, to finish her fellowship in genetics.
Pillai and her family flew to the US last July for the scholarship, but distance did not prove to be a hindrance for participating in the UAE's popular raffle draw.
Since six months ago, her husband has been buying tickets online under her name and so far, 50 coupons have been purchased.
"He would buy five tickets for every draw. My husband is such a big fan of the UAE. Well, we enjoyed our time working there and we do have plans to go back," Pillai was quoted as saying.
Pillai and her husband have not decided what to do with the money yet.
"It's such a big amount and besides we were awaken by the good news in the middle of the night and we can't even think straight," she said.
"It was my dad who shared the news with us since he's the one who got the call from the organisers, and at first we thought it was a prank call. We had to check the Big Ticket website to confirm it," Pillai said.
The millionaire promotion is the longest-running and the biggest raffle draw hosted at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
So far, the Big Ticket raffle has declared 178 millionaires, with the first few winners taking home Dirham 1 million.
Last month, a 33-year-old Indian expatriate in Abu Dhabi won over Rs. 12 crores.
Sreeraj Krishnan Kopparembil, also from Kerala, won a whopping Dirham 7 million (approx. Rs. 12,71,70,000) in the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket Draw.
