Adrian Portelli, aka “Mr. Lambo,” explained why he bid $100,000 against himself during Sunday night’s The Block auction.
The self-proclaimed “billionaire” bid $4.2 million on sisters Eliza and Liberty’s property, then made the strange move of bidding against himself – something that had never happened on the show before.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, Adrian said the decision was “all fun and games”.
“I saw the other potential bidders contacting their clients. And I just went up a little bit just to kill the competition,” he said.
“It’s all fun and games, at the end of the day it’s the competitors who get the money.”
Adrian Portelli, aka “Mr. Lambo,” explained why he bid $100,000 against himself during Sunday night’s The Block auction. Photographed with fashion blogger Carla Louise
“They have worked hard over the last three months…if I wasn’t here, they wouldn’t have made this much money…I’m very proud to be able to give them this opportunity.”
The bidder indicated he was involved in the auction for “personal reasons.”
“For me, it’s all fun and games,” he repeated.
“For me, this is all just a marketing strategy.”
Adrian also had a strong message for the haters, especially those who criticized his offer on Sunday.
Fans of The Block have slammed Adrian “Mr Lambo” Portelli for bidding an extra $100,000 against himself “while ordinary Australians are struggling to shop”.
“At the end of the day, you do what you want with your money, and I’ll do what I want with my money,” he said.
Many fans of the show criticized Adrian for outbidding by putting in a bid of $4.3 million and winning the auction.
“Someone simply outbid their own $100,000 bid while the rest of us are struggling to shop,” one person wrote on X.
Fans of the show criticized Adrian for outbidding sisters Eliza and Liberty’s property.
“This season’s offerings make it difficult to watch, it’s not competitive, just a touch of money. This makes me sad but also a little sick lol #theblock.’
Another commented: “Adrian Portelli outbidding himself is such a dick move lol #TheBlock.”
“Why is Adrian Portelli outbidding? I don’t understand #TheBlock,” said a third.
Another wrote: “I don’t understand why Adrian kept bidding against himself on house 2. The auctioneer hung around, just loving the spotlight a little too much.”
The self-proclaimed “billionaire” bid $4.2 million on sisters Eliza and Liberty’s property, then made the strange decision to bid against himself – something that had never happened on the show before.
“I’m a little sad that Adrian outbid the girls’ house twice and didn’t put that money into a little extra bidding at Leslie and Kyle’s #TheBlock. Would have been nice to see them get a little more. The girls were good with the $800,000,” one said.
Adrian also bought House 4 for $5 million, with Steph and Gian walking away with a $1.65 million profit plus a $100,000 prize.
Despite helping two teams make a combined $2.7 million in profit, Adrian wasn’t done showing off his deep pockets when he rushed to reclaim Kyle and Leslie’s house.
House 1 had a reserve of $2.97 million, and there was hope because Danny Wallis hadn’t purchased a house yet, and neither had celebrity bidder Dave Hughes.
However, Kyle and Leslie’s home struggled to build up the reserve, with bidding absolutely rampant before Adrian stepped in, taking the price to $3.1 million.
