Emirates Draw organisers take out the lucky numbers.

Ahamed Rafeeque is very hopeful about his future after winning not once, not twice, not three but five times in the same draw!

The Indian national won a combined total of Dhs23,415 when three of his five tickets each matched 4 out 7 digits during Emirates Draw’s latest livestream show, a fourth matched 2 out of 7 and a final fifth matched 1 out of 7.

“I was very excited when I found out that I had won Dhs7,777 three times, and also Dhs77 and Dhs7 one time each, thank you Emirates Draw for this great opportunity. I’m going to keep participating and I hope that I’ll win again in the future,” he said grinning from ear to ear.

Ahamed Rafeeque.

Priscilla Buenaventura and her husband are also optimistic about their future after the 39-year-old won Dhs 77,777 with Emirates Draw.

The family is struggling under the burden of an Dhs100,000 debt that began when they wanted to get a residency visa for their then-baby daughter. Now, they feel a glimmer of hope as they will use part of the winnings towards reducing it.

“I still can’t believe that I won. It was the first time that we participate with Emirates Draw and now, we feel hopeful for the first time in two years. Thank you to Emirates Draw for helping us turn our situation around,” she said.

The Dubai-based couple plans to split the winnings towards paying down the debt, their daughter’s school fees for the upcoming year, and paying off fines.

Their situation all began in 2012, when they discovered they needed to have an Ejari tenancy contract to sponsor their now nine-year-old daughter.

They approached two individuals who claimed they could help Priscilla and her husband navigate the process. All the couple had to do was provide a total of four cheques amounting to Dhs 105,000.

“The financiers used the cheques to register an apartment under my name. Things were fine between 2012 and 2020 so we didn’t really give it much thought, but then they disappeared when the pandemic started and since then, we’ve been dealing with one stressful situation after another,” the Filipina expatriate explained.

Priscilla Buenaventura.

To their bewilderment, they began receiving messages, calls, and complaints about missing payments and bounced cheques. Things escalated when Priscilla stopped working, which meant they were now dependent wholly on her husband’s income.

She added: “We’re going to keep trying and hopefully we’ll win at least Dhs77,777 again. It would really help us with everything we’re dealing with here and with our home back in the Philippines.”

In parallel, another fellow Filipino expatriate, John Glenn Robles Tahil, revealed that while he was happy to have won Dhs7,777, he was still in disbelief how close he was to winning Dhs 77,777 as only one number separated his ticket from taking home that amount!

“My group of friends and I participate every week, and we take turns monthly to purchase the entries. It just happened that we won on my turn, and actually, it was a colleague who noticed that we had won while watching the livestream. I checked my dashboard and email and saw the Dhs7,777, which made us all very happy,” John, who works in IT, said.

The 38-year-old, who lives in Ajman, plans to send his share to support his mother in the Philippines. The group plans to continue participating in the hope that they would win again soon.

“I really hope that the next time we win, it will be in one of the higher categories. If we do, or if we win the 100m Grand Prize, then I’ll use my share to start a business and purchase a farm. It’s my dream to start a livestock business back home,” Tahil said, smiling.

Neichma Daod Nathoo, a French expatriate based in Dubai, likewise shared Ahamed’s excitement at winning.

However, Neichma almost missed the congratulatory email notifying her that she had won Dhs7,777, if it were not for a spur-of-the-moment decision to clear out her junk folder.

“It was such an unexpected thing to see, but I’m happy that I won because I’ve been participating for several months. I tried to encourage my husband to join me, but he refused because he didn’t believe in draws. He was shocked when I told him I won Dhs7,777,” the retired fashion designer, who has lived in Dubai for 15 years, said, laughing.

The 61-year-old added: “I’m going to put this amount in savings, but I’m also going to keep participating because I’m a big believer in Emirates Draw. If I win again, especially if it’s a higher amount, I’m going to give a part of the amount to help my brother and his children.”

Another winner who had a shock turned positive surprise was Mohamed Yehia Salem. When he first saw the congratulatory email early in the morning, he initially couldn’t believe that he had won with Emirates Draw. An even greater shock for the sales supervisor was the fact that he won Dhs77,777 after participating regularly for six months.

“When I first saw the email, it took me a few minutes to realise that message said I had won Dhs77,777 instead of Dhs77. This really made my day; thank you Emirates Draw. I’ve been participating every week or so since I found out about it on Facebook because I like that Emirates Draw is giving back through its Coral Reef Restoration Programme,” Mohamed, who is based in Dubai, said, smiling.

He added: “I’m going to donate a part of my winnings in memory of my mother, who passed away last month. The remaining amount will be used to finish building my house back in Egypt and furnishing, which will save me two years of work.”

Retired project manager Usama Mohamad Abushaqra was also surprised when he discovered that he had won Dhs7,777, as it was the first time that he had won anything in a raffle draw.

“I’ve been participating since Emirates Draw began in September. My wife told me about it and I was attracted by the draw because I wanted to secure myself and my family, especially if I were to win any of the higher amounts or even the grand prize,” the 67-year-old Australian expatriate, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for over 28 years, said.

Since its inception nine months ago, the socially responsible organisation has distributed over Dhs26 million in prize money to over 19,000 participants.

This includes its one-of-a-kind Dhs 7 prize category, which allows nearly 10% of all participants to become instant winners by just matching the first number from the right.

The Dhs 100 Million Grand Prize, the largest in the region, remains up for grabs to be claimed by a single person or group of people who match all seven numbers from right to left.  

Optimistic participants have another chance to try for the life-changing prize during the next draw round, which will again be broadcast live on Sunday, June 05, 2022, at 9 PM UAE time.

How to play?

Entrants can choose to participate in the weekly draw by purchasing a Dhs50 pencil that will support in planting coral polyps at www.emiratesdraw.com. After registering online, participants can select their seven-digit number or have the system choose their number randomly.

With their purchase, participants are entered into two separate drawings, the first a raffle draw where every week seven lucky participants are guaranteed Dhs 77,777 each. In addition, all participants will be entered into a second draw with six prize categories that include a Grand Prize of Dhs100 million when all seven numbers are matched.

The next draw will be live streamed across its digital platforms, YouTube and Facebook.