When the winner of Abu Dhabi Big Ticket's grand prize was announced on Tuesday, Shantanu Shettigar was on cloud nine. This big win of Dh 20 million comes just over a month after his baby girl was born.
Who is Shantanu Shettigar?
Shantanu Shettigar, 34, is an an Indian expatriate based in Oman. The native of Udupi, Karnataka, has been residing in Muscat for eight years and working as a shop in-charge.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Shantanu said, "I feel my daughter brought me luck. I did not expect this at all."
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Pointing out that he is yet to meet his daughter, the new father said, "She was born while I was in Oman. I will be travelling soon for her naming ceremony. That is what I am looking forward to the most."
Shantanu got the life-changing call during a routine workday. He missed the live Big Ticket draw and two calls from organisers. "I was at work and didn’t realise. The third time they called, I picked up," he told the outlet.
What followed stunned him. "I was very surprised. I didn’t think it was real at first."
He has been taking part in Big Ticket for the past five years. Though he was sporadic initially, he has not missed a single draw in the past three years. He has been splitting the ticket with Sunil, a fellow expat from Udupi. "There were only two of us. We always shared the ticket," he added.
He pointed out that he is "very fortunate" as many people try for 10 or 15 years and do not win anything.
However, he said he has not made any future plans about how to use the jackpot money and would continue with his current job.
He will travel to Abu Dhabi next month for formalities and later bring his his wife and daughter to Muscat. “Family is the most important thing for me now. I think my daughter came into this world with luck. For me, that is the biggest blessing," he told the outlet.