Watch: Indian student and UAE national win $1 million in Dubai Duty Free Draw
First Ethiopian wins motorbike since Finest Surprise launched in 2002
DUBAI: Two new millionaires have been named in the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise draw held at Concourse C of Dubai International Airport.
One is a young Indian student who now studies in the United States, and the other is a long-time Emirati participant from Al Ain.
Additionally, a Dubai-based Ethiopian national drove away as the lucky winner of a luxury motorbike.
Dubai Duty Free’s new millionaires
Wayne Nash D’Souza, an 18-year-old Indian national residing in Dubai, became the newest US$1 million winner in Millennium Millionaire Series 510. He bought ticket number 4463 in Concourse A of the airport on 26 July while travelling to Los Angeles with his family.
Now enrolled in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, D’Souza received the life-changing news while in Los Angeles.
Born and raised in Dubai to a Mumbai-based family, D’Souza is a frequent traveller and long-time supporter of the Dubai Duty Free promotion, with his family purchasing tickets three to four times a year.
“Thank you so much, Dubai Duty Free. I will definitely put this money to good use,” he said, adding that the prize would support both his and his sister’s education. Some of the funds, he said, may go into property or investment in Dubai.
D’Souza becomes the 255th Indian national to win the million-dollar prize since the promotion began in 1999. Indian nationals remain the highest number of winners in the Millennium Millionaire programme.
Joining him is 55-year-old Mansour Al Hashemi, an Emirati national from Al Ain, who won in Millennium Millionaire Series 511 with ticket number 0548. He purchased his ticket on 27 July in Concourse B ahead of his flight to Bahrain.
A father of four and a loyal participant in the promotion for a decade, Al Hashemi expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you, Dubai Duty Free! I’m very happy to have won in your amazing promotion.”
He becomes the 17th Emirati national to win US$1 million through the campaign.
The draw was led by key Dubai Duty Free executives including Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director, Salah Tahlak, Deputy Managing Director, and Sinead El Sibai, SVP – Marketing, among others.
Who won the motorbike?
In the Finest Surprise draw that followed, a luxury Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 (Red) motorbike was awarded to Samson Assefa, a 60-year-old Ethiopian national living in Dubai.
Assefa purchased the winning ticket (number 0090) online on 13 July. A long-time entrant in the Dubai Duty Free promotion for over 25 years, the father of three called it the “best birthday gift ever.”
He is the first Ethiopian national to win a motorbike since the Finest Surprise motorbike category was introduced in 2002.