Dubai Duty Free's Millennium Millionaire draw produced two new $1 million winners on Wednesday, both Indian residents of the UAE. The first, Saravanan Malairaj, 36, based in Abu Dhabi, won in Millennium Millionaire Series 558 with ticket number 4905, purchased online on September 1. He works as a storekeeper for a construction company in Abu Dhabi and said the win could change how people around him, who had long overlooked his family, now see them, with part of the prize planned for his children's education.
The second winner, Bhanu Sobhani, 40, a Dubai resident who owns a textile factory, won in Series 557 with ticket number 0489, bought in Concourse B on September 2 while on his way to a business trip in Poland. He said he intends to invest part of his winnings in property and donate another portion to charity. Sobhani and Malairaj are the 283rd and 284th Indian citizens to win the $1 million prize since the promotion launched in 1999.
The Millennium Millionaire promotion, one of the best-known airport incentive programmes in the region, is held periodically among Dubai Airport travellers and has produced hundreds of winners of different nationalities over the years.