John Vargheses in UAE flooded with phone calls over Dh12 million jackpot

  DUBAI - Two Indian expatriates in the UAE were flooded with congratulatory phone calls over the recent Dh12 million Big Ticket draw that they didn't actually win, according to a newspaper report on Friday. When it was announced that a certain John Varghese won the jackpot in the Abu Dhabi draw, his namesakes in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah started receiving non-stop calls. The number of phone calls became so overwhelming that one of them had to post a message on Facebook to clear up the matter. The real winner, of course, is the Varghese who is a Dubai-based driver. Like his namesakes, he hails from the Indian state of Kerala. The three of them have also been buying Big Ticket for years and also bought a ticket for the recent draw. Abu Dhabi-based Varghese, who works at a luxury hotel, said he was busy with paperwork for his final exit from the UAE when he received phone calls from friends and colleagues. When he called the Big Ticket office, he was told that he was not the lucky winner. Varghese said he got a lot of phone calls from people asking for his help to pay off their debt. "It was an agonising experience as you were in a helpless position. Most people, including my friends, thought I was lying and avoiding them," he told Khaleej Times. The other Varghese works in Jebel Ali Freezone and lives in Sharjah. He said he has bought the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket a few times, and usually buys Dubai Duty Free tickets. He hasn't quite been lucky, he said, recounting the time when one of his friends invited him to pool money to buy a ticket. His friend won the draw, the 60-year-old said. Varghese said he also received numerous calls from people asking for financial help, thinking that he won the jackpot. He said that the incident has helped him realise the number of people in need of money. Varghese said he isn't giving up and will continue to buy tickets online. GAD/Expat 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