School principal wins $1 million at Dubai Duty Free draw

School principal wins $1 million at Dubai Duty Free draw

An Indian school principal in Ajman, who had been buying Dubai Duty Free raffle tickets for 32 years, hit the $1-million jackpot in the draw held today. 

Malathi Das, a longtime Ajman resident and principal of Global Indian School Ajman, was over the moon when she learnt that the ticket she bought on June 26 was drawn. 

"From the bottom of my heart, a very big thank you, Dubai Duty Free. I will continue to buy tickets to your amazing promotion," she said.

Das is the 165th Indian national to have become an instant millionaire since the start of the Dubai Duty Free promotion in 1999. Indians also make up the highest number of Millennium Millionaire ticket buyers.

With social distancing measures in place, the draw held at the Terminal 2 of Dubai International Airport was conducted by Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free; Ramesh Cidambi, chief operating officer; and Salah Tahlak, executive vice president for corporate services.

Two other winners

Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, two other winners were announced for the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Promotion.

Hirohito Ohtsuka, a 29-year-old Japanese national based in Moscow, won a Mercedes Benz S560 (Diamond White) with ticket number 0902 in Series 1755, which