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What began as a few seemingly ordinary missed calls quickly became life-changing for 44-year-old Saravanan Venkatachalam. The electrical engineer from Chennai, working in the UAE, had ignored several calls from an unknown number during work hours, assuming they were spam. What he didn’t realise was that the callers were Big Ticket hosts Richard and Bouchra, trying to reach him during work hours to inform him that he had just won a Dh25 million (around Rs 60 crore) jackpot. Moments later, his phone was flooded with calls from his wife and friends, confirming the unbelievable news. “It was unbelievable. Even then, I wasn’t sure it was true because there may be many people with my name,” Venkatachalam told Gulf News after finally connecting with the Big Ticket team. His First Thought After The Win Venkatachalam, who has worked across Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman before settling in 2019, said his first thought after learning about the win was about clearing his debts. “Yes, all these are the reasons that make you come to the UAE,” he said, referring to the financial pressures that had pushed him to move abroad for work. Now, he says his main focus is ensuring a secure future for his family. “I had secured the future of my children. The only thing on my mind is their education,” he said. How He Started Buying Big Ticket The engineer revealed that he started participating in the Big Ticket draw back in 2018 after a colleague won. He would only buy tickets occasionally, and in a clever twist, he used his credit card reward points instead of cash. “I used to redeem my cash rebate points to buy tickets. I didn’t spend my own money,” he said. Venkatachalam shared that his winning ticket was purchased on October 30 during a “Buy 1, Get 1 Free” promotion. He bought it alone, meaning he will not have to share the massive prize with anyone else. “There is no pattern. I just liked that number at the end of the month. That’s it,” he added. A Dream Come True “This is the first time I have ever won anything in my life,” Venkatachalam said, still in disbelief. His colleagues and friends have been visiting to congratulate him, and he says he’s deeply thankful for their support. Established in 1992 at Abu Dhabi International Airport, The Big Ticket is one of the UAE’s oldest and most popular raffle draws, known for turning ordinary people into millionaires overnight.
