One of Channel Nine’s top stars quit his high-profile role over a hefty cash prize he won when he performed an on-air stunt at the behest of a billionaire.
Wealthy listener Adrian Portelli gifted Today show host Alex Cullen $50,000 after being the first media personality to use his new self-proclaimed nickname ‘McLaren Man’ live on Friday morning.
Portelli has grown tired of his long-standing nickname ‘Mr. Lambo’, which he kept after appearing in a 2022 auction on the popular home renovation show The Block with a yellow Lamborghini.
The 35-year-old LMCT+ founder offered the cash reward to a member of the media to use his new nickname for the first time and Cullen seemed very eager to do so, dropping it during a Today show crossover from the Australian Open on Friday morning.
Cullen agreed to resign Saturday when the network asked him to do so once it was revealed that the cash transfer actually occurred, the newspaper reported. Sunday Herald Sun.
The billionaire took to social media saying: ‘We have a winner! Well played, sir,” and sharing what appeared to be a $50,000 wire transfer to Cullen.
Cullen, however, was not the only newsreader who tried to claim the prize.
His colleague Karl Stefanovic quickly repeated the phrase and joked that the two presenters would split the prize money if Portelli paid up.
Alex Cullen has been dropped after he and his Today show co-star Karl Stefanovic dropped Adrian Portelli’s new nickname during a live crossover from the Australian Open on Friday.

Portelli took to social media saying: ‘We have a winner! Well played, sir,’ and sharing what appeared to be a $50,000 wire transfer to Cullen (pictured).
Nine said it is taking the matter “very seriously”.
“Appropriate action has been taken quickly, including the return of funds,” a spokesperson said.
“While we review the circumstances under which this occurred, Alex has agreed to retire.”
The money will be returned to Portelli.
The billionaire once bet The Block host Scott Cam a hefty sum that he wouldn’t drink a shot of tequila at a posh Phillip Island restaurant.
Cam donated the money he won on that occasion to two charities.

Scott Cam previously won $10,000 from block bidder Adrian Portelli, but could have walked away with $50,000. The bet began when Portelli was having dinner with Cam and Block’s co-host Shelly Craft (all pictured).
It comes after Portelli this week denied charges of running an illegal lottery related to his LMCT+ business.
He is charged with nine counts of conducting or assisting in conducting an illegal lottery in South Australia, while his company Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, trading as LMCT+, is charged with 10 counts of the same offence.
He was not required to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where lawyer Ben Lodge entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Portelli and Xclusive Tech.
The charges, instigated by South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services, allege Portelli’s company did not have a license to run lotteries in South Africa.
Portelli’s company offers its members subscriptions to a ‘rewards club’, which includes entries to win cars and properties while paying a monthly fee.

Portelli last week asked the media to call him ‘McLaren Man’, instead of his usual nickname of ‘Mr Lambo’, earned after an appearance on The Block.
Under South African law, any commercially promoted lottery with prizes over $5,000 needs a license to operate and entries must be free.
“The lottery’s top prize was a property located in Gisborne, Victoria, as seen on the Australian television show The Block, or a cash prize of $3,000,000,” court documents state. .
Winning the prize “involved an element of chance” but the defendant “was not licensed to run the lottery in South Australia”.
Portelli and his company face a possible maximum fine of $190,000. He has said on social media that if convicted, he would “round it up to $200,000.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.