18-year-old Wayne Nash D’Souza hits $1 million jackpot days before starting aerospace engineering at University of Illinois
Wayne Nash D’Souza, an 18-year-old Indian-origin student from Dubai, has become a millionaire after winning the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle—just days before leaving for the United States to begin his aerospace engineering degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, reported news18.com.
Dubai-born teen scores life-changing win moments before boarding flight to Los Angeles.
Wayne purchased the winning ticket—Series 510, ticket number 4463—on 26 July at Concourse A of Dubai International Airport, right before boarding a flight to Los Angeles with his family. Speaking from LA, he called the win “surreal” and admitted he initially thought it was a joke.
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Born to parents from Mumbai, Wayne has been travelling since he was five, with his family buying raffle tickets for decades
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Having only recently turned 18, he used his father’s account to enter the draw, saying he had a “gut feeling” something good was coming
The teen plans to use the prize money to fund his and his sister’s education and invest in Dubai property. Dubai Duty Free confirmed he is the 255th Indian national to win the $1 million prize since the promotion began in 1999. The draw has only a one-in-5,000 chance of winning, with just 10 people having won more than once.
Currently in Los Angeles to support his sister’s music career, Wayne will soon head to Chicago to start his university journey.
