A 44-year-old Kerala man working as a school watchman in the UAE has won ₹26 lakh in the latest Big Ticket draw after taking part in the raffle with friends for four years.

Saidalavi Kariodan Varichalil, who has lived in the UAE for 17 years, works as a watchman at a school and had been participating in the Big Ticket raffle with a group of friends for around four years.

The group pooled money every month to buy tickets, hoping their number would eventually be selected.

That happened in Series 289, when their ticket emerged among the winning entries and Saidalavi secured a prize of Dh100,000, approximately ₹26 lakh.

What made the win even more memorable was that the winning ticket had been randomly selected by his friend Anub.

Plans to send the money home

Saidalavi said he plans to send his share of the prize money to his family in India.

He was one of five winners who shared a total prize pool of Dh500,000, with each winner receiving Dh100,000.

The other winners included two Indians from Kerala — Akhil Chandran R P and Sarath Sasidharan — and Bangladesh nationals Arifuzzaman Shuvo and Sabuj Md Delowar Munshi.

Two more Kerala winners

Saidalavi was not the only Kerala expat to win in the draw.

Akhil Chandran R P, 28, who works in sales and customer service in the UAE, also won Dh100,000. He has reportedly lived in the UAE for five years and had been participating in Big Ticket with friends.

Sarath Sasidharan, 33, who has lived in the UAE since 2007, also won Dh100,000. He was introduced to the draw by colleagues and has participated both individually and in groups.

Sarath said he plans to use his winnings for healthcare-related expenses.

Despite winning the jackpot, Saidalavi said he is not giving up on the raffle.

He has already contributed towards another ticket for the next draw.

Sharing a message with other participants, he said: “Keep hoping! Your day will come.”