Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: “In the wildest of my dreams, I didn’t think that I would win so big,” Indian expat, Renjith Venugopalan Unnithan, said after winning the grand prize of 10 million Dirhams in the Big Ticket Abu Dhabi draw held on Friday, December 3, 2021.
He along with five Indian friends had collectively bought the tickets online by spending OMR54 on November 27, 2021.
Renjith, who hails from Kerala in India and works as an accountant at a reputed mall, told the Times of Oman, “All of my winning friends stay in Seeb.”
“It was on November 27, we thought of just taking a chance and buying a ticket online,” he said.
Renjith, who has been living in the Muscat for the last 12 years, said he bought tickets once before and that too two years back. “That time I didn’t win anything,” he said.
“I was watching the draw live. My heartbeat was racing during the draw. Then I came to know we were the winners. I am feeling on top of the world now,” he said.
The ticket’s share will be divided among six friends. “For us it’s a treasure and will help us take care of our liabilities. But I am not leaving this job,” he added. “I still cannot explain this feeling of winning Big Ticket.”
Over the moon
His phone hasn’t stopped ringing after people came to know that they have hit the jackpot. “A lot of people have congratulated us after winning,” he said.
Renjith and his friends Shalu Shankran, Mohd Yousuf, Shaji, Vipin are over the moon ever since they came to know that they are the winners.
“All of us stay alone in Muscat with families back home in India and we always catch up during our free times so this weekend has been great for us,” he summed up.
Earlier this year, Abdussalam N V, a 28-year-old Indian expat living in Oman had won the Dh20 million Big Ticket draw in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Abdussalam has been running a business in Muscat for the last six years.
