One of Australia’s richest men puts an OUTRAGEOUS bet on the NRL grand final – and promises to pay for a huge pub shout if his team wins

Multi-millionaire advertising guru John Singleton has bet $100,000 on Penrith to win the NRL grand final – and could win an absolute fortune if the Panthers beat the Storm on Sunday night.

The 82-year-old made the bet in March and was quoted odds of $4, meaning he will pocket $400,000 if coach Ivan Cleary’s men win their fourth straight title.

Singleton – who is famous for his punting and generosity when his bets come true – said he could receive $200,000 from bookmaker Lloyd Merlehan before kick-off, but refuses to do so because he loves the excitement that comes with such a huge outlay go.

“If I had any brains, I’d quit my job right now and save $200,000.” But that’s not so much fun, is it? “I want to win everything,” he said News Corp.

When asked if he gets nervous about losing so much money, he replied: ‘Of course. That’s why I do it. I haven’t bet on any games this year. Only one.

‘Lloyd [Merlehan] is so much ahead of all my punting over the years. I’m just trying to get something back.’

‘Singo’ also revealed he will be at Gosford’s Railway Hotel on the NSW central coast to watch his beloved Newtown Jets play Norths Devils in the State Cup final, one of the highlights for the Panthers vs Storm clash .

“I’ll be shouting across the bar if Newtown wins… free drinks for an hour,” he said.

Last October, Singleton promised to scream at all 40,000 punters on The Everest if his horse Hawaii Five Oh won the race.

The advertising guru (pictured at the Golden Slipper horse race) is known for his love of a punt – and for shouting at the crossbar when one of his bets goes off

It finished in sixth place, saving him from having to spend $300,000 on the liquor bill – which still wouldn’t have added much to his estimated $800 million fortune.

The famous advertising executive shouted at the bar at a race meeting in Menangle, southwest of Sydney, last August.

He paid for spectators’ drinks for an hour between races three and five, saying: ‘Why should people have to wait trackside without a drink?’

In 2014 he called the bar at Hawkesbury after his horse Strawberry Boy won the Ladies Day Cup, and in April 2008 he treated punters to drinks in 19 pubs stretching from Newcastle to Wyong on the NSW central coast.

‘Singo’ said he could get $200,000 from the bookie he made the bet with – but he likes the nerves he’s going through as he prays the Panthers (photo: with Brian To’o, left, and Izack Tago) will triumph over the Storm

But his most famous act of generosity came during the 2000 Golden Slipper, when the horse he co-owned with former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Belle du Jour, scored a memorable victory.

‘It would definitely be the most exciting, unforgettable day I’ve ever had. You can’t top that,” Singleton said.

‘We were going to do it [the shout] for an hour, but then we said let’s do it until the races are over.

“We have $1 million plus the prize money, why would we do that for an hour? It’s not a suburban pub, this is a moment in horse history – I’m treating myself a bit there!

“We kept it flowing and I know when the bill came in it was a lot, but a lot less than I thought it would be.”