Kerala Man Wins Rs. 45 Crore Lottery in UAE

The famous dialogue from the Malayalam movie “Jacobinte Swarga Rajyam,” “Dubai is a working man”s paradise,” has become a reality for Sreeju, a 39-year-old control room operator from Kerala. Sreeju, who has been working in the UAE for the past 11 years, has won a whopping Rs 45 crore in the UAE”s Mahzooz Saturday Millions lottery.

Despite working in the UAE for 11 years, Sreeju could barely make ends meet with his minimum wages and was unable to afford building a house back in Kerala.

“I was about to drive around when I checked my Mahzooz account, and I couldn”t believe my eyes,” Sreeju was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. “I was confused about what to do when I saw my winnings. I waited for that call from Mahzooz to confirm that my winning was true.”

Overwhelmed with gratitude for this unexpected fortune during the difficult time, Sreeju expressed his appreciation for the UAE, which he now considers a working man”s paradise, as depicted in the movie. He feels deeply honored to have received this prize from the land where he has diligently worked for the past 11 years.

Sreeju is not the only Indian who has struck gold in the UAE”s lottery scene. Last week, 60-year-old Anil Gianchandani from Mumbai won the prize money of USD 1 million in the Dubai Duty-Free Millennium Millionaire draw. Gianchandani is the 219th Indian national to win USD 1 million in the draw, which was launched in 1999.

While the UAE once had only two known big-ticket lucky draws, the number has since increased significantly. Reports indicate that Indians make up the majority of lottery ticket buyers. Due to the high ticket costs, many Indians pool their money to participate.

Unlike Indian state lotteries, which tax winnings, UAE lotteries disburse the entire prize money to the winner.