Retired Indian Engineer Wins ₹225 Crore Lottery with Eyes Closed

What started as a fun moment for retired Indian engineer Sriram Rajagopalan turned into a once-in-a-lifetime surprise. Sriram, who lives in Chennai, won a huge lottery prize of ₹225 crore (about $27 million or Dh100 million) in the Emirates Draw MEGA7 game. This is one of the biggest lottery prizes ever won by an Indian. The company announced the news on Thursday night.

Sriram used to work in Saudi Arabia for over 20 years before he came back to India in 2023 after retirement. He hadn’t played the lottery in a long time but decided to give it a try again — just for fun. He picked the numbers by closing his eyes and tapping random spots on his phone using a stylus. That simple action changed his life forever.

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The Emirates Draw company said Sriram matched all the winning numbers in the draw held on March 16. “When I saw the results, I just couldn’t believe it,” Sriram shared in a statement. “I watched the video of the draw again and even took a screenshot of the winning numbers to be sure.”

Describing his feelings, Sriram said he felt “70 percent happy and 30 percent scared.” He explained that the prize is a huge amount of money, and he has never managed such a big sum before. “But this isn’t just about me,” he added. “It’s about my family, my children, and also a message of hope to everyone reading this. Every father wants to secure a better future for his children — and now I can. This win is a chance to build wealth for generations to come.”

Sriram was born and raised in a simple middle-class family in Chennai. In 1998, he moved to Saudi Arabia for work. He and his wife raised two sons while living there. After retiring in 2023, he came back to India for a peaceful life. But his return took an unexpected turn with this incredible win.

Though he hasn’t shared detailed plans about what he will do with the money, Sriram said that part of it will be donated to charity. “I now have bigger decisions to make than I did when I was just an employee,” he said. “Yes, this money may change my life, but it won’t change who I am.”

Emirates Draw, the company behind the game, was operated by Tycheros. However, they stopped their UAE operations at the end of 2023. This happened because the UAE introduced new rules for gaming. The national lottery license was given to another company, The Game LLC, which now runs The UAE Lottery. Since then, Emirates Draw has focused on serving players in international markets.

Sriram’s story has inspired many, showing that luck can come at any time — even when your eyes are closed.