Thasleena Puthiya Puryail (second to right) won the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket's Dh15 million jackpot. Courtesy: Big Ticket
Thasleena Puthiya Puryail (second to right) won the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket's Dh15 million jackpot. Courtesy: Big Ticket
Thasleena Puthiya Puryail (second to right) won the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket's Dh15 million jackpot. Courtesy: Big Ticket
Thasleena Puthiya Puryail (second to right) won the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket's Dh15 million jackpot. Courtesy: Big Ticket

Abu Dhabi’s Dh15m jackpot: Indian woman who forgot she purchased lottery ticket strikes lucky


Sarwat Nasir
  • English
  • Arabic

An Indian homemaker in Qatar won Dh15 million in the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket with a raffle ticket she did not even remember buying.

Thasleena Puthiya Puryail, 40, has three children, aged between one and 21 years old. Her husband is an entrepreneur who runs restaurants.

Her winning ticket number was 291310 and was drawn during a live stream on social media, with tens of thousands of people watching.

Ms Puryail's name was announced during a social media live stream on Wednesday. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Big Ticket
Ms Puryail's name was announced during a social media live stream on Wednesday. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Big Ticket

"I wasn't even watching the live stream. This was the first time I bought a ticket and I completely forgot about it," she told The National minutes after she was made aware she had become a multimillionaire by Big Ticket organisers.

“I’m in a complete state of shock and just can’t believe this is true.”

Ms Puryail said she and her family are “well off” but she was still overjoyed after winning the grand amount.

A previous winner, who received a Dh20 million jackpot picked out Mr Puryail's ticket from the large box of entries.

Abdussalam NV, 28, made a special appearance during the live stream. Last month, the expatriate living in Oman made headlines when he could not be reached after being announced as the winner.

Thasleena Puthiya Puryail's winning ticket number was 291310. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Big Ticket
Thasleena Puthiya Puryail's winning ticket number was 291310. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Big Ticket

Organisers were able to get a hold of him a day later, after his friend passed on his correct number to them.

During the latest live draw, he advised viewers to purchase lottery tickets “with good intentions”.

He told The National previously that he aimed to donate some of his winnings to a charity that helps underprivileged families pay for their daughters' weddings. He also split the funds with six of his colleagues.

As part of a separate reward in Dubai, a single mum from the Philippines won Dh1 million last month.

Nina Elmina Sanchez, 32, entered a raffle draw by Al Ansari Exchange after sending her elderly father Dh186.

She used to earn Dh2,000 working as a hotel receptionist.

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Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

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