The Filipina winner of a Dh30 million grand prize in the Big Ticket draw says she plans to take stock before spending her jackpot winnings in the UAE.
Anna Gayongan, a finance professional who has been working in the Emirates for 15 years, hopes to buy a home in the country, fulfilling a long-time dream.
“I always wanted to invest and buy real estate here. After winning this big amount, the first thing I want to do is to buy property in the UAE – it’s the safest country I know,” she told The National from her family's home in Dubai’s Deira neighbourhood.
“It’s a blessing for us that we received this amount. But we need to understand how to handle the money and we are asking our peers for advice. We know if you mismanage this, it will be gone like the air. So we must carefully plan for our future and for the days ahead,” she added.
Saved to buy the ticket
The 38-year-old said she was overwhelmed when she got a phone call confirming she had won with the number 074090.
Previously, she has pooled funds with friends to enter the Big Ticket draw, but this time she bought two tickets alone.
“I really saved money to buy two tickets for Dh1,000. I never told anyone, even my husband, that I was buying this – he just came to know after I won. It’s actually too much for us to spend Dh1,000 with how much we earn.”
She plans to continue travelling daily to Abu Dhabi to work at an automotive company and her husband will continue to work in the oil and gas sector in Dubai.
Their winnings will help them show their one-year-old son the world. They are planning a holiday in either Australia or Georgia in the coming weeks.
Big Ticket winner Anna Gayongan reads the email congratulating her on her win. Antonie Robertson / The National
No hasty decisions
Ms Gayongan has told her family back in the Philippines of her win.
“People I know who never bought the Big Ticket before are saying they will purchase it now after they heard my news,” she said. “We are overwhelmed and we will take all this slowly.”
As part of the latest Big Ticket live draw, quality engineer Elango Pandi, from India, won a BMW 430i coupe.
The first month of 2026 holds the promise of 27 prizes, with a Dh20 million jackpot and five Dh1 million prizes, say draw organisers.
There will also be weekly draws of Dh50,000 for four winners.
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