Indonesian Wins S$1 Million at Changi Airport in Singapore

Jakarta-based Ade Iskandar Roni beat seven other finalists to emerge as the Grand Draw winner of the 2016 ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ shopping promotion held on Sunday afternoon at Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 3.

All it took to land Ade Iskandar the S$1 million in cash was an adidas t-shirt that cost S$50 – the lowest-priced purchase among the eight finalists, and also the minimum spend required to participate in the Millionaire Draw.

Ade Iskandar, a procurement personnel in a telecommunications company bought the t-shirt as a gift for a friend on his first trip through Changi Airport in October 2016.

It was a tightly-contested final as Ade Iskandar had to out-luck competitors from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates in an hour of action, played out in front of a 300-strong ‘live’ audience.

The eight finalists went head-to-head in the first three game rounds where they raced to board their flights, in games simulating a departing passenger’s journey through Changi. After checking in via Changi’s Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) kiosk by completing a puzzle, they went on to test their luck in picking the right boarding gate on Changi’s iconic Solari board, before five finalists moved on to the third round of shopping and dining. This round saw each finalist picking two items and matching the total cost of their selections to the lucky price that was revealed at the start of the game. Three finalists were eliminated.

When it came down to the final two – Indian finalist Animesh Singh and Ade Iskandar, excitement hit a new high. The audience witnessed the extraordinary stroke of luck from Ade Iskandar, who successfully plugged into the millionaire life by fitting a giant travel adaptor into the socket on the podium after a nerve-racking five tries! What followed was a heartwarming embrace shared onstage by Ade Iskandar and his best friend, who had flown in from Jakarta to show his support and share the moment.

Breaking down in tears of joy and visibly overwhelmed by the surreal experience, Ade Iskandar gushed, “I’m still shocked, nervous and in disbelief, but incredibly happy. I can’t imagine how much money a million Singapore dollars will look like, how big a stack it will be!”

Apart from Mr Roni, the other finalists won S$5,000 in cash. All enjoyed a three-night hotel stay in Singapore, with return airfare provided for non-Singapore residents.

The eighth run of the ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ will kick off in May 2017.

Record-Breaking Sales at Changi Airport

Changi Airport’s annual flagship campaign, also Singapore’s biggest retail promotion, played a pivotal role in driving concession sales in 2016.

Sales at Changi rose 5% to over S$2.3 billion, an all-time high for the airport. Travellers from China, Singapore and Indonesia were the top spenders at Changi Airport, with Chinese nationals accounting for 30% of total sales in 2016.

Perfumes and cosmetics, and liquor and tobacco continue to be the two most popular product categories at Changi Airport, followed by luxury goods, electronics and gadgets, and chocolates and candies.

“We congratulate Ade Iskandar, our seventh Changi Millionaire and thank our passengers for journeying and shopping with us the past year. We are pleased to achieve yet another all-time high for concession sales at Changi Airport, which helps to keep Changi Airport’s aeronautical charges competitive,” said Ms Lim Peck Hoon, Executive Vice President of Commercial at CAG. “At Changi, the spirit of continual innovation underpins our retail strategy and drives many of our new ideas and developments – the opening of the second DFS Wines & Spirits Duplex at Terminal 2 that boasts the popular The Whisky House and the engaging Pokémon at Changi year-end celebrations are just two examples. We will continue to make shopping at Changi a fun and rewarding experience for all our travellers.”

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