Adrian Portelli was all smiles during the giveaway.
A woman who won a $3.5 million home in Adrian Portelli’s lottery of The Block he bought in 2024 has been left “devastated” are finding out she was ineligible because of laws in her home state.
South Australian resident Donna was the first name called when billionaire Portelli began offloading the homes on Saturday.
The Murray Bridge resident was ecstatic to have scooped the winning house by Maddi and Charlotte from the 2024 season of The Block on Phillip Island.
But her dreams were shattered earlier this week when Portelli contacted her to say she wouldn’t be getting the keys and the home would need to be redrawn.
Portelli took to Facebook on Wednesday to slam South Australian gambling laws the prevented Donna from claiming the prize.
He wasn’t smiling after revealing the prize would need to be withdrawn for one unlucky winner. Picture: Facebook.
“Donna sorry to say, you’re not eligible,” Portelli said.
“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.
“It’s absolute nonsense that she cannot win a prize. We must abide by these rules, and we have to redraw the prize.
Portelli said he was trying to decide what to do for Donna in light of the loss.
The billionaire and his company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, plead not guilty in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in September to19 charges of being a person conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.
The South Australian government had accused Portelli of breaching the Lotteries Act by conducting lotteries in the state without a licence.
How the lottery unfolded
A year after shelling out more than $15 million on The Block properties at Phillip Island, Adrian Portelli has finally offloaded the houses to five elated winners in a chaotic live lottery.
More than 20,000 people around Australia followed the livestream, while a large group also gathered to watch it all unfold on site. One in the crowd had driven for two and half hours to attend.
After giving away bottles of water and caps to the crowd and talking up his new show, My Renovation Rules, Portelli finally got down to the business of giving away houses with some assistance from Big Brother’s 2013 housemate Tahan Lew-Fatt and his business partner Troy Williams.
Flanked by trees draped in fairy lights, flamethrower stacks, smoke machines and spotlights, the houses were auctioned off in the order of their auction day sale prices, with Brad and Kylie’s losing house handed off first.
Home denied … Donna won’t be able to claim the property. Picture: Supplied.
The giveaway kicked off 45 minutes late, with a 43-year-old teacher named Parvin winning the house which Portelli bought for $2.6 million.
In something of an anticlimax after so much hype, Parvin did not answer on first ring. When Portelli eventually got hold of her and – after a spot of playful teasing that it was just a practice run – told the elated new owner the happy news.
“It’s my first win of anything ever,” she said, explaining how she would tell her husband of their windfall when he got home from walking the dog.
Ricky and Haydn’s place was the next cab off the rank, gifted to a speechless Josh, 22, who was in the middle of having drinks with his mates in West Australia when he got his call.
“You are now a multi-millionaire mate. You are rich. Drinks are on you!” Portelli told an elated Josh before switching the call to Facetime to prove he was legit.
Adrian Portelli contacted the house winners via Facetime during a live stream of the giveaways.
Kristian and Mimi’s house was won by an incredulous Martha (who refused to say how old she is or what she does for a living because she “likes to be private”).
The first words out of Martha’s mouth upon hearing Portelli on the phone was “F*** off!”
“Have I won a f***ing house? Where is it?”
After some initial disappointment that the house was in Victoria, Martha said she was still excited to be a winner.
About to turn 50, Jason was watching the livestream from his massage chair when he learned he’d secured Courtney and Grant’s house.
“I am just shocked. I didn’t think I would be winning anything,” the Sydney-based father-of-three who works in maintenance said.
The fifth and final winner of the night was Donna. Stunned, she was given the ill-fated news she was the new owner of Maddy and Charlotte’s house while attending a Christmas pageant at Murray Bridge with her young daughter.
Adrian Portelli announced the winners via a livestream.
Claiming he loves the Phillip Island resort and even celebrated his son’s first birthday on site, Portelli likened the multimillion-dollar-giveaway to a decluttering exercise.
Although Portelli initially said he was considering keeping the houses, he soon pivoted to offering them as a prize through his company LMCT+.
The first attempt to give away the resort failed when Portelli gave the winner of his Boxing Day raffle the choice between pocketing $8 million cash or the five renovated properties. The winner, Holly from Ballarat, took the money.
The controversial billionaire shelled out more than $15.03 million to scoop up all five houses at the 2024 Block auctions. The combined total of $5.43 million in winnings also made it the most lucrative auction day for contestants in the show’s history.
He splurged the most money on Maddy and Charlotte’s house, his $3.5 million winning bid — a knockout $1 million raise — making the sisters the youngest-ever winners of The Block.
Over three years, Portelli has spent a jaw-dropping $31.68 million on Block houses. He earned himself the nickname “Lambo guy” when he rolled up to the 2022 finale in Gisborne in a yellow Lamborghini before later dropping $4.25 million on Sharon and Ankur’s house after it was passed in at auction.
+additional reporting by Siobhan Duck
