Foreign lotteries continue to shower massive fortunes on Indians, with yet another life-changing win reported this month. Kerala native P.V. Rajan, currently working in Saudi Arabia, secured a staggering ₹61.37 crore (25 million dirhams) in the Abu Dhabi “Big Ticket Draw Series 281” held on December 3. Rajan purchased the winning ticket (No. 282824) on November 9, marking a dream breakthrough after buying Big Ticket lottery coupons consistently for the past 15 years without success.
The lucky draw was conducted in the presence of organizers Richard and Bouchra, while last month’s jackpot winner — Tamil Nadu’s Saravanan Venkatachalam — drew the winning ticket. When contacted by phone, Rajan was initially speechless with emotion before sharing his happiness with the organizers. He later said he had missed the live show as he was outside at the time of the draw.
Rajan, who works as a supervisor in a company in Saudi Arabia, made headlines by announcing that he plans to share the prize money with 15 of his colleagues. Meanwhile, the monthly Big Ticket lottery also awarded ten consolation prizes of 10,000 dirhams (Rs 2.45 lakh) each, including to three Indian citizens. This marks the second consecutive month in which an Indian has won the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket grand prize, following Saravanan’s win of an identical amount last month.