Adrian Portelli, aka ‘Mr Lambo’, has spoken out about why he bid $100,000 against himself during Sunday night’s The Block auctions.
The self-described “billionaire” bid $4.2 million on sisters Eliza and Liberty’s properties and then made the strange move of bidding against himself — which has never happened before on the show.
Speaking to Ny Breaking Australia during the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, Adrian said the move was ‘completely nice and fun’.
‘I saw the other potential bidders contacting their customers. And I just raised a little bit to kill the competition,” he said.
‘It’s all well and good, in the end it’s the participants who get the money.
Adrian Portelli, aka ‘Mr Lambo’, has spoken out about why he bid $100,000 against himself during Sunday night’s The Block auctions. Pictured with fashion blogger Carla Louise
“They’ve been working hard for the past three months… if it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have won so much money… I’m very proud to give them that opportunity.”
The bidder indicates that he is involved in the auctions for ‘personal reasons’.
“It’s all fun and games for me,” he repeated.
“It’s all a marketing strategy to me.”
Adrian also had a strong message for the haters, especially those who decried his bidding move on Sunday.
The Block fans criticized Adrian ‘Mr Lambo’ Portelli for offering an extra $100,000 against himself ‘while ordinary Australians struggle to buy groceries’
“At the end of the day, you do what you want with your money, and I do what I want with my money,” he said.
Many fans of the show have criticized Adrian for outbidding himself by placing a $4.3 million bid and winning the auction.
“Someone just casually outbid their own by $100,000 while the rest of us are struggling to buy groceries,” someone wrote on X.
Fans of the show have criticized Adrian for outbidding himself for sisters Eliza and Liberty’s properties
‘This season’s bidding makes it difficult to watch, it’s not competitive, it’s just a splash of money. It makes me sad but also makes me feel a little sick lol #theblock.”
Another commented: ‘Adrian Portelli outbidding himself is such a stupid move lol #TheBlock.’
‘Why does Adrian Portelli outbid himself? I don’t understand #TheBlock,” said a third.
Another wrote: ‘I don’t understand why Adriaan kept bidding against himself on house 2. The auctioneer dragged it out because he liked the spotlight a little too much.’
The self-proclaimed ‘billionaire’ bid $4.2 million on sisters Eliza and Liberty’s properties and then made the strange move of bidding against himself – which has never happened before on the show
“I’m a little sad that Adrian outbid himself twice on the girls’ house and didn’t spend that money on a little extra bid at Leslie and Kyle’s #TheBlock. It 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 profit of $1.65 million plus $100,000 prize money.
Despite helping two teams rake in a combined profit of $2.7 million, Adrian wasn’t done showing off his deep pockets when he rushed in to pick up Kyle and Leslie’s house.
House 1 had a reserve of $2.97 million, and there was hope as Danny Wallis had not yet purchased a house, and neither had celebrity bidder Dave Hughes.
However, Kyle and Leslie’s home struggled to meet reserve, with the auction absolutely teeming before Adrian jumped in and took the price to $3.1 million.