A 29-year-old resident of Abu Dhabi, Anilkumar Pola, never knew that his dream of winning the 100 million dirham UAE lottery would one day come true and change his life. Defying odds of 1 in 8.8 million to win the 100 million dirham UAE lottery grand prize, Pola told Gulf Times that his first steps would be to buy a supercar and then stay in a seven-star hotel for a month—just to process the news. Anilkumar Pola confirmed: "This amount will change my life forever. I didn't expect that the key to this win would be the number 11, which I chose for my mom." His story became even more poetic as the win happened on the eve of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights—a celebration of new beginnings, hope, and prosperity. Pola said: "I feel it's a great blessing. I plan to buy a supercar first, then indulge myself with a month's stay in a seven-star hotel." To win the grand prize, Pola had to match all seven numbers with the draw's result. When buying his ticket, he combined an "Easy Pick" number from the "Days" category with the number 11 from the "Months" category—an homage to his mother's birth month. "Those numbers were special to me. That simple gesture made my win even more distinctive," he said. Now, while planning how to balance celebration with smart investing, Pola says he wants his story to remind others that dreams can indeed come true. "I plan to set aside time to carefully plan how to invest this money wisely," the emotional Pola added. He noted that his win is proof that hope and luck can come together for anyone, "especially when no one expects it."
