Chaos as Adrian Portelli opens his first Melbourne petrol station

Adrian Portelli has officially opened the first in his chain of petrol stations - and the event was just as chaotic as expected.

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.

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, 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.

Adrian Portelli (pictured) has officially opened the first in his chain of petrol stations - and the event was just as chaotic as expected

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

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

One lucky member of the public walked away from the petrol station $1 million richer thanks to Portelli's generosity.

The 26-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 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.

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

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.

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 26-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

My Reno Rules premiere ruthlessly mocked by viewers who have dubbed it 'The Temu Block'

'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 super car collection.