Dubai expats win $1m in raffle draw

DUBAI: Two new dollar millionaires were announced at the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise draw held at Concourse D of Dubai International Airport.

The luck of the Irish finally smiled on Michael McGinley, when he became the first ever Irish national to win the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire since its inception in 1999.

McGinley, an Irish national based in Dubai, became a US$1 million winner in Series 296 with ticket number 4143. A regular participant in the promotion, McGinley always buys a ticket to the Dubai Duty Free promotion whenever he travels to Ireland, which is usually around 5-6 times a year.

Surprised by the unexpected call, he exclaimed, “What can I say? I just tried my Irish luck and it worked! Thank you so much Dubai Duty Free.”

The second Millennium Millionaire winner of the day was Mukhtar M., who won in Series 297 with ticket number 2060.

M, a 37 year old Canadian national living in Dubai, bought his winning ticket at the Tennis Village during the recent Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. A regular participant in the promotion and a resident of Dubai for 27 years, he works as a real estate broker and was surprised upon receiving the call of a lifetime from Dubai Duty Free representative.

Excited to share the news with his mother he commented, “Thank you so much DubaiDuty Free for this amazing news, I have been participating in your promotions both for Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise for 10 years. I can’t believe that I finally won!” The draw was conducted by Dubai Duty Free’s Ramesh Cidambi, Chief Operating Officer, Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President – Corporate Services and Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President – Marketing.

Following the draw, the presentation to two previous Finest Surprise Promotion winners took place.

Munir Jamil Khoury, a British national based in Dubai, won an Audi Q8 3.0 (Dragon Orange Metallic) in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Surprise draw for Series 1712 with ticket number 0202. His winning ticket was actually drawn by Roger Federer after the final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on March 2nd.

Excited to meet the team, he said: “I am very happy to be here today to thank the Dubai Duty Free team for this wonderful gift which I am excited to drive in Dubai soon!”