American national wins $1m in Dubai Duty Free raffle draw
- 02 Jun 2021
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
An American national based in California, USA was announced as the latest $1 million winner in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions at the draw held in Terminal 2 of Dubai International Airport.
Gary Titizian became a dollar millionaire when his ticket number 0193 in Millennium Millionaire Series 360, which he purchased online on May 11, was drawn on Wednesday.
Titizian is the tenth American national to win $1 million since the start of the Millennium Millionaire promotion in 1999.
Given the time difference in the USA, he was unavailable for immediate comment, but will no doubt be surprised when he learns of his newfound fortune.
Wednesday's Millennium Millionaire draw was conducted by Dubai Duty Free's Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin, EVP - Corporate Services, Salah Tahlak and Sinead El Sibai, SVP - Marketing.
Following the Millennium Millionaire draw, a presentation to previous winner of $1 million in Series 359 took place.
Gert Maria Kloeck, winner of $1 million in Millennium Millionaire Series 359 with ticket number 2036, is the first Belgian national to win the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire promotion.
He was delighted as he was greeted warmly by the Dubai Duty Free team at today's presentation.
“Thank you very much Dubai Duty Free for this fantastic win! It was great to finally meet the people behind this amazing promotion and made me a millionaire!” said Kloeck who was presented with the $1 million ceremonial cheque by McLoughlin and Tahlak of Dubai Duty Free.
A regular participant in Dubai Duty Free's promotion since 2017, Kloeck purchased his winning ticket online on May 12.
Following the presentation, the Finest Surprise draw was conducted for two luxury vehicles. Joining in the draw line-up was Mona Al Ali, SVP - Human Resources, Michael Schmidt, SVP - Retail Support, Sharon Beecham, VP – Purchasing and Zayed Al Shebli, VP - Loss Prevention and Corporate Security.
Shrinath Uchil, a 38 year old Indian national based in Dubai won a Mercedes Benz GLE 53 4M AMG (Selenite Grey) car, with ticket number 0287 in Finest Surprise Series 1775, which he purchased online on May 15.
A resident of Dubai since 2005, Uchil is a father of two and owns the Best Pets Unlimited Trading LLC at The Palm, Jumeirah.
When asked about the ticket number, Uchil said “I always look for 2 and 8 when selecting the ticket number for these reminds me of the apartment number in Mumbai, India where I was born.
“Thank you Dubai Duty Free, it is great to be able to win such an amazing prize during this difficult time. We all know that business is slow and any amount of money that I will get from selling this car can help finance my business,” added Uchil.
Meanwhile Fathollah Nasrollah, an Iranian national based in Abu Dhabi won a BMW F 750 GS (San Marino Blue Metallic) motorbike, with ticket number 0066 in Finest Surprise Series 456, which he purchased online on May 10.
Nasrollah who previously won a BMW 650i Gran Coupe (Sapphire Black Metallic) car, with ticket number 1090 in Finest Surprise Series 1630 in August 2016, was uncontactable and will surely be surprised to hear of his win.