Six-month-old Munir Majed Ed-Din Qalaa is the grand winner in the draw for AED 1 million at the ‘Win Millions’ raffle at Festival@The Dubai Mall, the city’s largest of its kind in-mall shopping and entertainment extravaganza, which concluded on Friday (May 29, 2009).
Mr Yousef Mohamed Al-Radwan, a UAE national, won the Grand Bentley draw to drive home in a luxurious, four-door Bentley Continental Flying Spur, and the winner in the daily draw for AED 10,000 was Indian national Mr S Talwar.
The grand draw for AED 1 million and the Grand Bentley draw marked the finale of the festival, which contributed to rising sales at the over 900 retail outlets offering several global brands. The mall welcomed more than 3 million visitors during the month-long festival and awarded total cash prizes of AED 3.1 million. Several thousand visitors attended the closing ceremony featuring mall-wide entertainment by an array of colourful entertainers.
Munir’s parents, who live some 480 km away from Dubai, on the border of the UAE with Saudi Arabia, had been to the city to visit his grandparents, a trip the Syrian family undertakes every fortnight. They visited The Dubai Mall to purchase a computer, printer and some household items. Of the raffle coupons they got, three tickets were deposited in the name of Munir.
Munir’s mother Rola couldn’t believe the family’s luck, and she thought some friends were trying to fool them when they got the call from the mall management on Friday night. They have been in the UAE for 28 years and had never won at any raffle earlier. The family plans to donate some money to charity and invest the rest to buy an apartment or land in Syria in the name of Munir.
Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “The Festival@The Dubai Mall made millionaires out of shoppers by offering several mega prizes over the one month period. The festive flavour at the mall will continue through the coming weeks, as our outlets take part in the Dubai Summer Surprises and Eid In Dubai, giving visitors several months of bargain shopping.”
Mr Al-Radwan, an employee in the Customs department at Sharjah International Airport, was at work when the call came informing that he had won the Bentley. “I thought someone was pulling my leg because only the other day I had told my friends that I never win anything at raffles. I only bought one raffle ticket for the draw and I never expected to win,” he said. The 23-year-old opted to take home the white Bentley, which he plans to sell and buy a Nissan GT-R, his dream car, a photograph of which he has on his mobile phone.
Visitors to the mall had the opportunity to get bargain deals while also entering the ‘Win Millions’ raffle for daily prizes of AED 10,000; and weekly prizes of AED 100,000. The Grand Bentley draw offered only 5,000 coupons, each priced at AED 200. Additionally, the festival also organised the first-of-its-kind ‘Bid 2 Win’ auction for premium products.
The Festival@The Dubai Mall was supported by Dubai Media Inc, Arab Media Group and The Address Hotels + Resorts, a part of Emaar Hospitality Group. Dubai Shopping Festival Office was the Strategic Partner.
