Bangladeshi expat driver scoops $9.53m bounty in UAE draw

By Andrei Skvarsky.

A cash-strapped Bangladeshi working as a pick-up driver in Abu Dhabi became a millionaire instantly on January 4 by winning 35m Emirati dirhams ($9.53m) in a major United Arab Emirates draw, according to Gulf, Bangladeshi and Indian media.

Mohammed Rayful, 39,was going to share what was the biggest-ever grand prize in Abu Dhabi’s three-decade-old Big Ticket raffle with a group of 20 fellow-expats who had helped him buy the winning ticket and, like him, were being plagued by money problems.

Rayful, who lives in the city of Al Ain, has been earning between $270 and $815 a month as a driver, UAE daily Khaleej Times said. He has been buying lottery tickets for nine years.

Big Ticket winners are chosen once a month. The winner of the next grand prize of 23m dirhams ($6.26m) is due to be announced on February 3.

Besides sums of money, Big Ticket prizes include one-kilogram chunks of pure gold awarded once a week. One kilogram of pure – 24-carat – gold costs around $59,000.

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