Adrian Portelli has officially opened the first in his chain of petrol stations – and the event was marred by an accident after an e-bike rider was struck by a car.
The Australian billionaire launched the LMCT+ location in Preston, Victoria, on Wednesday night with hundreds of his loyal followers turning up to see the spunky businessman in the flesh.
But chaos erupted as an individual riding an electric bike in the road collided with a car and was sent flying into the air before landing on the road.
The condition of the e-bike rider was uncertain, but witnesses on the scene say he got up from the road after the collision and fled the area.
Police, who were already on scene investigating another car outside the event, chased the e-bike rider on foot.
Although petrol was not yet available for sale, those in attendance lined up instead for the food on offer, with Daily Mail hearing complaints of long waits and frustrated, hungry attendees.
Adrian Portelli (pictured) has officially opened the first in his chain of petrol stations – and the event was marred by an accident after an e-bike rider was struck by a car
Cars and motorbikes caused a nuisance by revving and doing burnouts in the street
Police towed one car from the scene, but it is unclear why the vehicle was taken away
The car being inspected by police was eventually towed from the scene.
Several devotees of the luxury vehicle enthusiast showed up in their own muscle cars, with a number of drivers filling the road, revving their engines and doing burnouts outside the brand new service station.
At one point, security was forced to chase off a driver sitting at a green traffic light, revving his engine and blocking the road.
Portelli was mobbed by fans for several hours at the event, which culminated in one of his infamous giveaways.
One lucky member of the public walked away from the petrol station $1 million richer thanks to Portelli’s generosity.
The 37-year-old announced his petrol pump venture as part of an extension to LMCT+, his subscription-based rewards club, in December 2025.
Speaking to Daily Mail on the night, Portelli said that his aim is to serve his community by offering petrol at competitive prices as Australia faces shortages.
‘Yeah, look, I’m gonna do what I can to relieve that,’ Portelli said of the country’s fuel crisis.
‘I’ve got my customer base that have supported me over the years, so I’m willing to take a hit to the pocket to support them in these times.’
Portelli indicated that he was likely to take a financial hit due to his low prices, which he intends to raise at some stage.
‘This is just something to say thank you. But you know, we’re gonna obviously have to at some point increase our prices, but like I said, we’re gonna give wholesale fuel,’ he said.
The condition of the e-bike rider was uncertain, but witnesses on the scene say he got up from the road after the collision and fled the area
Police, who were already on scene investigating another car outside the event, chased the e-bike rider on foot
The Australian billionaire launched the LMCT+ location in Preston, Victoria, on Wednesday night with hundreds of his loyal followers turning up
Although petrol was not yet available for sale, those in attendance lined up instead for the food on offer, with Daily Mail hearing complaints of long waits and frustrated, hungry attendees
Several devotees of the luxury vehicle enthusiast showed up in their own muscle cars
Drivers filled the road, revving their engines and doing burnouts outside the brand new service station
At one point, security was forced to chase off a driver sitting at a green traffic light, revving his engine and blocking the road
Portelli was mobbed by fans for several hours at the event, which culminated in one of his infamous giveaways
One lucky member of the public walked away from the petrol station $1 million richer thanks to Portelli’s generosity
Models in grid girl-style outfits donned revealing ensembles
The price of fuel in Australia doubled for drivers in the weeks after conflict broke out in the Middle East and Iran closed shipping passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with some service stations even running dry.
But months before the ongoing fuel crisis began, Portelli said that his service stations would offer ‘discount’ fuel prices, with the first location now open in Melbourne.
‘The big players in the petrol game didn’t want to give you guys discounted fuel, so Adrian’s gone out and bought his own to give members a whopping fuel discount,’ LMCT+ said in its December announcement.
‘Get ready because next year you’re going to start seeing LMCT+ petrol stations roll out across Australia.’
In an update last week, Portelli announced the first of the petrol stations would open within a fortnight. The project is a conversion from a Shell site on the corner of Gower Street and Plenty Road in Preston, about 10km north of Melbourne’s CBD.
‘The final two-week countdown!’ he wrote online. ‘It genuinely is surreal seeing this come to life and I got emotional seeing that LMCT+ logo hanging loud and proud!’
For those struggling to find E85, which has been in short supply due to the conflict in the Middle East, Portelli added: ‘There will be E85 on site in some way, shape or form.’
Hundreds of Aussies applauded Portelli’s decision to open a service station – with some joking his ability to find fuel in a shortage was better than that of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
‘Bro can you replace Albo,’ one wrote.
Speaking to Daily Mail on the night, Portelli said that his aim is to serve his community by offering petrol at competitive prices as Australia faces shortages
Portelli indicated that he was likely to take a financial hit due to his low prices, which he intends to raise at some stage
‘Yeah, look, I’m gonna do what I can to relieve that,’ Portelli said of the country’s fuel crisis
‘I’ve got my customer base that have supported me over the years, so I’m willing to take a hit to the pocket to support them in these times,’ he added
‘This is just something to say thank you. But you know, we’re gonna obviously have to at some point increase our prices, but like I said, we’re gonna give wholesale fuel,’ he said
The 37-year-old announced his petrol pump venture as part of an extension to LMCT+, his subscription-based rewards club, in December 2025
Married At First Sight star Dave Hand (pictured) was among those who showed up
‘This is awesome!’ another said.
But others shared their doubts about LMCT+’s expansion, especially given that the brand is most famous for its lotteries.
Those competitions appear to be part of the new service stations with pictures showing an on-site ‘Rewards Hub’.
‘Can we not bring gambling into every aspect of our lives? I’m happy for you to expand, but exposing our kids to ‘a chance to win’ at every opportunity is a real bad idea,’ one wrote.
A waitlist for LMCT+ fuel is available on the company’s website but it’s unclear when the first service station will officially begin sales.
Portelli, from Melbourne, has an estimated worth of $1.4 billion.
He made the majority of his wealth through his LMCT+ business, which exploited a loophole in gambling regulation, along with property investment and a supercar collection.
