Wayne Nash D'Souza, an 18-year-old Indian national who resides in Dubai, has become the latest US$1 million winner in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire Series 510. D'Souza, who bought ticket number 4463 on July 26 at Concourse A of the airport while traveling to Los Angeles with his family, is now enrolled in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received the life-changing news while in Los Angeles.
Born and raised in Dubai to a Mumbai-based family, D'Souza is a frequent traveler and a long-time supporter of the Dubai Duty Free promotion, with his family purchasing tickets three to four times a year. "Thank you so much, Dubai Duty Free. I will definitely put this money to good use," he said. D'Souza plans to use the prize money to support his and his sister's education, and may also invest in property in Dubai. D'Souza is the 255th Indian national to win the million-dollar prize since the promotion began in 1999. Indian nationals remain the highest number of winners in the Millennium Millionaire program.
Joining D'Souza as a fellow millionaire is Mansour Al Hashemi, a 55-year-old Emirati national from Al Ain, who won in Millennium Millionaire Series 511 with ticket number 0548. He purchased his ticket on July 27 in Concourse B ahead of his flight to Bahrain. A father of four and a loyal participant in the promotion for a decade, Al Hashemi expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Dubai Duty Free! I'm very happy to have won in your amazing promotion". He is the 17th Emirati national to win US$1 million through the campaign.
In addition to the million-dollar prizes, Dubai Duty Free also holds the Finest Surprise draw, offering luxury cars and motorbikes. In the latest draw, a Dubai-based Ethiopian national won a luxury motorbike.
The Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire promotion has been running since 1999 and has created many millionaires from various countries. The draws are held at Dubai International Airport and are witnessed by airport visitors and staff. Dubai Duty Free also marked its 500th draw recently. Venugopal Mullacheri, a 52-year-old Indian expat from Kerala, won $1 million in the 500th draw after participating in the promotion for 15 years.
Other recent winners in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw include:
To celebrate its 40th Anniversary, Dubai Duty Free offered customers the chance to win an AED 40,000 gift card to spend at Dubai Duty Free. Tickets were priced at AED 40 each and were available online at dubaidutyfree.com.
