Abu Dhabi-based Arlene, 40, poses with her honorary cheque at the Mahzooz headquarters in Dubai on March 1, 2023. EXPAT MEDIA

Mahzooz: Filipina in Abu Dhabi wins Dh10 million jackpot

A Filipina sales promoter in Abu Dhabi who has fallen on hard times can’t believe her change of luck after winning the Dh10 million jackpot in Mahzooz. An emotional Arlene, 40, from Luzon in the Philippines, was revealed at a press conference at the Mahzooz headquarters on Wednesday (March 1). “I can’t believe I won,” she said. Arlene said that as of Wednesday morning, only her sister and husband knew about her big win. Days earlier, one of her friends even pointed out to her from the news that it was a Filipina who won the jackpot. “She said, ‘Arlene, look, they said a Filipina won’. Maybe next time it could be you or me,” she recalled, adding that she couldn’t reveal to her friend yet that she was actually the winner. When asked by Expatmedia.net what she plans to do with her prize money, the Filipina said that although the reality of her big win is still sinking in, she wants to buy property in the Philippines, donate to charity, and more importantly, give back to those who helped her during hard times. Watch the live coverage here: Arlene, who has lived in the UAE in the last 12 years, says the salary she earns as a sales promoter and her husband’s salary have not been enough to cover their living expenses. She said they have been struggling with her husband’s unpaid loan compounding to their financial troubles, which she said has kept them in the UAE for a long time because she wasn’t sure if he already had a travel ban. “There were times when I would borrow Dh20 because my salary and my husband’s salary is not enough for my family. Sometimes, I didn’t have even one dirham in my pocket, and cannot buy food,” she told Expatmedia.net. Arlene revealed that she had been praying for a windfall all year. She has been participating in Mahzooz weekly in the last 12 months, using the same set of numbers based on her birthday, her husband’s birthday, her father’s death anniversary and her mother-in-law’s birthday. “I pray always. Every time I pray, I say, ‘Lord, give me Dh100,000 or even Dh50,000.’ But now He gave me a jackpot prize of Dh10 million,” Arlene said. She is the first Filipina out of five Filipino jackpot winners in Mahzooz so far, and one of 32 people who became multimillionaires through the draw in the last two years. The Filipina, who is also the first jackpot winner of 2023, said she will definitely keep her promise to donate to charity. She also wants to set aside money to help her family and her husband’s family. The couple doesn’t have children. Arlene said she plans to continue her stay in the UAE. “It’s where my dreams came true,” she said. Her message to people who say jackpot winners in the UAE are fake? “Just believe because this is real. I really won Dh10 million, I can’t even believe it myself. This is not fake, this is true,” Arlene told Expatmedia.net in Filipino. PIA/Expat Media ALSO READ: Guide to 5 UAE raffle draws
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