'Scared to believe': UAE-based Bangladeshi tailor on winning Dh20 million in Big Ticket
'I had gone for a work-related purpose with a client to Abu Dhabi when the thought popped into my head that I should buy a Big Ticket,' he told Khaleej Times. 'For many years, people I know have been buying, and they have often asked me to pitch in, but I always refused. This time, my heart just told me to buy a ticket.'
One of the longest-running raffle draws in the region, Big Ticket, had announced several prizes for the summer. In July, another Bangladeshi, an electrician called Mohammed Naser Balal, won the Dh25 million grand prize. He was the one who picked the winning ticket entry this month.
'My heart was confident'
After his work in Abu Dhabi, Sabuj asked a taxi driver how to buy a ticket. 'He pointed me in the direction of the store,' he said. 'Once I reached there, they said it would cost me Dh500. I hesitated and wondered if I should spend that much money on a raffle ticket. I could do so many other things with that money, but my heart was just adamant. It just kept telling me that I should buy.'
After buying it on July 29, Sabuj said that every day he kept thinking of the ticket. 'I would be going about my day when suddenly I would remember the ticket and my heart would tell me that I would win,' he said. 'I kept telling myself that there was no chance I would win it the first time I bought it, but my heart was confident.'
Five days later, his name was picked during the monthly Big Ticket raffle draw.
First thing to do
Even though he has received the official call, Sabuj still finds it difficult to believe that he has won. 'I will believe it when I get the cash in my hands,' he said. 'I have been getting a lot of calls from Bangladeshi media as well, but I have refused everything because somewhere, I am still a little scared to believe it.'
He added that the first thing he wants to do is go to Makkah for the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah. 'I had intended to do Umrah in January,' he said. 'Even when I was buying the ticket, I thought that even if I win, the first thing I want to do is perform a pilgrimage. Then I will decide what to do with the money.'
Sabuj said his family, including his wife, two sons aged 10 and 3, mother and sister heard of the win through local Bangladeshi news channels and asked him about it. 'I told them that I took the ticket, but I am not sure if I won or not,' he said. 'If and when I get the money, I am sure God will show me the best way to spend it. I am entrusting all to the will of God.'
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