(Web Desk) - Just a few days ago, Pakistani national Hira Nayyer had never imagined buying a Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire ticket. Today, the Dubai resident is $1 million richer after winning on her very first attempt.
The 38-year-old finance professional and chartered accountant said she came across the promotion only after a colleague mentioned it during a conversation at work.
"He told me there was this lottery and that the chances of winning were quite good. I had never heard about the Dubai Duty Free promotion before," Nayyer told Khaleej Times. "I checked the website and decided to buy just one ticket." What convinced her even more was the ticket number. When the system generated ticket number 1387.
"The moment I saw it, something just clicked. I felt it was perfect," she said.
After buying the ticket, she completely forgot about it.
A few days later, while sitting at her office desk, she tried to watch the live draw online. She watched the draw on social media, and soon heard the winning ticket number being announced.
"They said 1387 and I was frozen in my seat," she said. "I couldn't believe it. I kept thinking, 'How can this happen?'"
The surprise grew even bigger when she called her husband. “He had no idea I had even bought a ticket. I did not share it with him at all, just because I never thought of winning,” said Nayyer.
"I told him I had won, but he didn't believe me," she said. "He asked me to send him the ticket and the video of the draw. Only after seeing both did he realise it was true."
Nayyer won the $1 million prize in Dubai Duty Free's Millennium Millionaire Series 550 with ticket number 1387, which she purchased online on July 3.
She is the 29th Pakistani national to win the top prize since the promotion was launched in 1999.