An Indian citizen, who purchased his ticket online from Thane, won the $1 million first prize in the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw. In July, ticket number 0207, which was the chosen one in the 363rd Millennium Millionaire draw, belonged to a 36-year-old seaman, Ganesh Shinde. Just a week earlier an Indian taxi driver crowd-funded three Abu Dhabi’s Big Ticket with nine other Pakistani, Bangladesh and Sri Lankan friends, and won the big prize of 20 million dirhams. Most winners of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi draws are either UAE residents, or people visiting the Emirates as tourists or transiting through to some other country. And Indians have been pretty lucky, having won the raffle 181 times out of 363 times it has been held since 1999. But Shinde’s case was rare as he purchased his ticket online from his home country. Shinde, who is employed with a marine firm in Brazil, said he has been through the Dubai International Airport several times. He told Gulf News: “It is unbelievable. I am still in shock. I love Dubai and I hope to visit soon. I want a new car, a new apartment, I want to save money for my child’s education. So, the list is long. The prize money will serve all these purposes.”

Along with the Millennium Millionaire draw, draw was also conducted for two luxury vehicles - a Range Rover Sport HSE Dynamic 5.0 car, and a BMW R nineT Scrambler motorbike. An Australia expat, Justin French, won the Range Rover, while 30-year-old Nepali expat Rohit Mote, 30, who works at a supermarket and lives in Abu Dhabi, won the motorcycle.