Adrian Portelli has broken his silence after a South Australian woman lost out on a multimillion-dollar prize.
The woman, Donna, entered into Portelli’s popular LCMT+ lottery without realising that South Australian residents are restricted from winning the large prizes due to government legislation in the state.
Donna, from Murray Bridge, last week won the $3.5 million renovated mansion as part of the reality show The Block after she purchased a “bronze package” that included discounts from multiple retailers as well as entries into the draw.
Sadly, Portelli had to break the news to Donna after he realised where she was living.
“Donna won first prize, which was Maddie and Charlotte’s house. She is not eligible to win the prize so the prize will be redrawn,” he said.
MORE: Shock: Portelli was secretly at Block auctions
“It’s absolute nonsense that she cannot win a prize.
“We must abide by these rules, and we have to redraw the prize.
“Because of this issue with the South Australian government, that has been going on for roughly a year now, we decided until we come up with a solution, to run a $1000 daily giveaway for South Australians.
“We draw out a South Australian and we give them $1000, which we have been doing every single day.”
Portelli said he and his company were deciding on what they could do for Donna given her loss.
Fans rushed to share their thoughts on Donna’s loss, with one commenting: “What if she changed her address?”
MORE: ‘Greed’: New proof The Block was a rip off
A second replied: “How absolutely devastating for Donna, I would be livid!”
“If I were Donna I would be moving to Victoria immediately,” remarked another.
The new draw will mark the third time Portelli has attempted to give away the home to one lucky winner.
Portelli previously held a competition back in December to offload the Phillip Island properties he bought for a total of more than $15 million. However, with a prize option of The Block resort or $8 million in tax-free cash, the winner instead walked away with the cash, leaving Portelli with the resort to still offload.
Portelli originally decided against another giveaway of the resort due to the cost of promoting and running one.
“I think everyone forgets that the resort is one half of the cost. So to run a promotion like that costs double the amount we have paid for it in marketing expenses and running it and permits,” he said at the time.
However, the billionaire changed his mind after being unsuccessful in his search for a buyer for all five properties, leading to another giveaway of each of the properties earlier this month.
Portelli first bid on The Block in 2022, losing a bidding war against Danny Wallis for Omar and Oz’s House 5, which netted the contestants a cool $1,586,666.66 above their reserve.
It set a record for the highest amount of profit ever made in a Block auction, marking a turnaround from the previous five years when the average profit per house on auction day was less than $500,000.
Two of the five houses featured in the latest season failed to sell at auction, and it promoted experts to blame Portelli.
