A Bangladeshi expat has won Dh 35 million in Series 247, the first Big Ticket raffle draw of the New Year, which was held in Abu Dhabi. On December 10, 2022, Mohammed Rayful of Al Ain purchased ticket number 043678, which resulted in his winning the largest grand prize ever. The 39-year-old winner was working at the time, and the draw organizers made several attempts to reach him on the phone but were unsuccessful. Read: Mega Millions Tuesday jackpot surpasses estimated $565M Fortunately, the organizers were able to get in touch with the Al Ain resident and inform him that he had won the jackpot, reports Khaleej Times. Rayful has been purchasing tickets for the past nine years while working as a pick-up driver for a business in Al Ain. His winning ticket was bought online by a group of 20 friends, and the reward money will now be divided among them all. “I have been living in the UAE for the past 12 years. I can hardly believe that I have won. I am very excited and overjoyed.” Read More: Spain dishes out $2.43 billion in bumper Christmas lottery Rayful was unsure when asked what he would do with the money because he has not made any arrangements.

Sharjah-based Bangladeshi expat Arif Khan won Dh20 million (Dirhams) in the Big Ticket Abu Dhabi’s ‘Mighty 20 Million’ raffle draw held in the Capital, reports Khaleej Times. The amount equals Taka 485,742, 452 in Bangladeshi currency according to current exchange rate.  Khan has been working in Sharjah for the past four years. He has been trying his luck for the past year or so and bought the winning ticket number 144481 on May 27 all by himself. “I always used to purchase tickets alone. I was just trying my luck. I have never bought any other lottery ticket in my life. I was buying for the past year,” the 36-year-old resident told Khaleej Times. Asked if he knows how much the prize money will be Bangladeshi currency of Taka, he tried to calculate but then gave up. Also read: Canadian expats marry onboard Biman flight “I don’t know. The fact that I have won Dh20 million is still sinking in. It’s only in the last half-an-hour or so that I started hearing these digits: ‘Dh20 million.'” Khan hails from the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and runs a car maintenance shop in Sharjah. Currently he has got no immediate plans on what to do with the jackpot. “I don’t have any set plans. I saw the promotions of Big Ticket on the social media platforms and got interested. I have never tested my luck before. I worked in Saudi Arabia for 12 years. My business went down there. But now all is well.” Khan, a happy family man, wants to use the winning amount to help those in need. Also read: Expat Bangladeshi 'beaten to death in Paris' “I have two children, my wife and my parents. My brother runs a shop here. We are a happy family. I hope this money can be used to help others. Money is the most dangerous thing in the world. So, I want to use it to help others and not let it change myself,” he added.   Meanwhile, Fatibha Binas pocketed the second prize of Dh1 million with ticket number 271300 bought on May 27. Nahita Vincent won the third prize of Dh100,000 with ticket number 219746 purchased on May 19.