Dubai: Keralites continue to enjoy the good luck at the UAE's popular raffle draw as Vazhappallil Yohannan Simon hit the jackpot by winning an eye-popping dirham 10 million (approximately Rs18.68 crore) on Friday.
Simon won the whopping amount at the Big Ticket raffle draw held at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Simon, who is the director of Kasco Furnitures, purchased the ticket online on July 8. "This is the first time I am purchasing the ticket on my own. But, earlier, it was purchased along with a group of friends," Simon told Malayala Manorama.
"This is great. I am very happy. Since this is for real I am very happy," said Simon.
As organisers called Simon to congratulate him, he thought it was a prank, Khaleej Times reported.
Apart from one Syrian national, rest of the winners in the top 10 list are all Indians.
Indian nationals continue to rule the roost at the Big Ticket raffle draw.
Kuwait-based Sandeep Menon won $1 million at the draw late last month.
Earlier last month, a 30-year-old Indian had won a $1.9 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, hours before he was set to leave the country for good.
John Varughese, an Indian driver from Kerala, had won dirham 12 million in the raffle draw in April.
In January, another Keralite also had won a dirham 12 million in raffle prize money.
Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October last year.
