A gym manager from the UK is celebrating after winning Dh10 million ($2.7m) in the Mahzooz weekly draw.
Reece, 26, who asked for his last name not to be publicised, said he plans to keep his job and to be “as smart as possible about investing the winnings”.
It was a week of celebrations for the man from Luton, outside London, as he also got married on Thursday.
“When I went on the Mahzooz website on Saturday night I saw that someone had won the Dh10 million jackpot and I thought ‘that’s incredible’.
“Then I checked my numbers and realised that I was the person who had won it.
“I froze for about a minute before running upstairs to tell my wife, she just burst into tears of joy.”
The Dubai resident matched all five numbers on Saturday’s prize draw, the third person in the last four weeks to claim the top prize.
“I’m going to keep working at the gym. My employers have been great to me over the past four years, since I moved to Dubai, they’ve helped me to become the person I am,” he said.
“After I told my wife, I phoned my parents back in the UK and my dad couldn’t believe it, even the next day he was still messaging me to ask if it really had happened.”
While Reece said he would seek financial advice on how best to invest his winnings, there were a few purchases he was keen to make.
“At the moment we’re renting a property here so we would like to buy our own home,” he said.
“I’d also like to buy my wife a brand-new car as she’s never had a brand new one before.”
Reece said he was determined to keep his feet on the ground, despite becoming a millionaire overnight.
“We’re trying to be smart about how we do things because this is an incredible amount of money that will change our lives,” he said.
“It’s given us the option to unlock the next level of life. There are so many things running through my head that I’ve never dreamt of before.”
He was not the first member of staff from his gym to have won big in the Mahzooz draw.
“A Filipino colleague of mine won Dh1 million in the draw in July last year,” he said.
“To be honest, it’s hard to try to put my emotions into words. The first night after winning I just couldn’t sleep at all.
‘It’s important for me to remember where I come from and that’s why my priority is to focus on how to make my family’s life better.”
Reece’s lucky numbers were 16, 18, 37, 38 and 40.
To take part in the event, entrants are required to purchase a Dh35 bottle of water, which is then donated to people in need across the UAE.
Purchasing the bottle of water entitles you then to take part in the weekly prize draw.
“We are delighted that the Mahzooz win came in at such a milestone in Reece’s life, just days before his wedding,” said Farid Samji, chief executive of Ewings, the company that operates the weekly draw.
“Now, the young couple can plan for the future without any financial anxiety, thanks to the life-changing win.
“In a span of four weeks, we had three top prize winners, and we hope that this positive trend will continue and that more people will soon be living the Mahzooz dream.”
People can take part by registering at www.mahzooz.ae
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
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In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
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Name: One Good Thing
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
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