High-profile businessman Adrian Portelli has been cleared of running illegal lotteries, but his business has been fined $40,000.

The 36-year-old Melbourne billionaire was found not guilty today of nine charges of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery in South Australia.

His business, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which trades under the name LMCT+, was found guilty of 10 counts of conducting an unlawful lottery.

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On social media, Portelli shared a news story on the court's decision and commented "thank you very much".

"I'm clear, business $40,000 fine," he wrote.

"They would've made more money from me issuing the permits that are entitled to the business to begin with."

The charges, instigated by SA's Consumer and Business Services, alleged Portelli's business did not hold a licence to conduct 10 separate lotteries between January 29, 2023 and May 16, 2024.

Magistrate Melanie Murton said that she accepted that "the parties' swords were apparently drawn" over whether the commissioner should issue a licence to Xclusive Tech to conduct trade promotion lotteries in SA.

Portelli's company offers members subscriptions to a rewards club that includes entries to win cars and properties.

Under SA law, any trade promotion lotteries with prizes exceeding $5000 need a licence to operate and entries must be free of charge.

"The primary products being bought and sold for value were the draw entries," Burton found.

"In my view, the draw entries are at the very heart of the transactions.

"I find, beyond any reasonable doubt, that XT conducted 10 standard lotteries as alleged."

She fined the company $40,000. Each offence carried a maximum penalty of $10,000.

But she found Portelli not guilty.

"I am not prepared to find that the simple act of drawing an entry in a lottery is … sufficient to bring it within the scope of the substantive offence of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery," Burton said.

Portelli gained fame as "the Lambo Guy" in 2022, after arriving at a house auction for The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.

The Block is broadcast by Nine Entertainment, the publisher of this website.

READ MORE: Tropical Cyclone Narelle to make landfall near Coral Bay after smashing WA's Pilbara coast

In the 2024 series of the reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire all five homes on offer.

While three of the four prize properties were featured on The Block, nothing in this case turned on that, Burton said.

Portelli was not in court for the decision.

Outside court during the two-day trial last September, he agreed the prosecution was a waste of taxpayers' money.

"I'm not going to sit down and let them walk all over me, I'm going to fight it," he said.

He had previously stated on social media that if he were convicted, he would "round it up to $200,000".

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It took three police units to locate the driver, who denied drinking.

Flights in and out of Sydney Airport have been cancelled due to wild weather that has continued to blast NSW, with the conditions expected to run into the weekend in what has been touted as a once-in-50-year weather event.

The disruptions come as Sydneysiders are being warned to brace for more wild weather following last night's snap storm, which left thousands without power and brought public transport to a halt.

At least 50 domestic flights have now been cancelled or delayed due to the rough conditions, with some parts of the state, including Perisher and Thredbo, blanketed in snow months before expected. 

READ MORE: Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle smashes Pilbara coast with 260km/h gusts

By 10.30am today, at least 50 domestic flights scheduled to land had been cancelled, and 40 planned departures were also grounded.

Surf Life Saving chief executive Steven Pearce warned NSW is "going to see swells we haven't seen in decades up and down the coastline".

Pearce warned the state will be hit by somewhere between seven and 11 metres of swell, accompanied by winds of more than 100km/h.

"It really is going to be a hazardous and ferocious weekend for anyone going down near the coastline," he said.

The peak swell is expected tonight, with a damaging surf warning in place, which could bring erosion and flooding for coastal areas.

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Those conditions are expected to ease by tomorrow morning, however the hazardous surf warning will remain in place for the rest of the day.

Pearce urged people to stay out of the water this weekend, warning the conditions are so rough that Surf Life Saving may not be able to use jetskis in some locations.

Some Sydney ferry services will also stop running after 8pm today due to the high swells.

Senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology Christie Johnston said yesterday's conditions brought strong winds, heavy rainfall and even hail in some parts of Sydney.

"That system has now moved offshore, and we are now expecting a very cold system behind it," she told Today.

"There could still be some severe storms today, but they are most likely to just produce damaging winds in south-eastern parts of NSW," she said.

"That is because of an offshore low-pressure system that is spitting up some very strong winds, some very large surf [and] some very big waves as well."

Temperatures across Sydney today are expected to reach highs of 21 degrees with 130km/h winds already being recorded across the city. 

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The State Emergency Service (SES) has said that damaging winds and large swell are expected to carry on throughout the entire weekend across most of the NSW coastline.

The SES responded to 591 incidents in 24 hours, mostly across Dubbo and Sydney's Northern Beaches after strong winds tore down trees, causing damage to homes and infrastructure.

"Even though the thunderstorms have passed, this system is now bringing a different set of risks with strong winds and dangerous surf expected right along the coast," NSW SES State Duty Commander, Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said.

"We're asking people to stay indoors during strong winds, keep clear of trees and powerlines, and secure anything around their home that could become airborne."

SES responders were called to a street in Hornsby last night after a tree was ripped from its roots and damaged two homes.

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Firefighters had to cut through branches of the fallen tree to rescue a person who was inside one of the homes the tree collapsed on.

"I didn't feel it was safe to stay [at the home] last night," a resident told 9News.

"But we had no choice."

Last night's wild conditions halted Metro services between Sydenham and Chatswood and left thousands without power across Sydney.

Transport around the city is now back up and running.

Melbourne feels the brunt of bitter cold snap

Sydney's wild weather is causing havoc for passengers on the ground in Melbourne, with more than 40 flights cancelled.

More than 20 Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar flights to Sydney from Melbourne have been cancelled, along with 20 arrivals.

Qantas is running additional flights tomorrow to accommodate passengers.

The unseasonably chilly conditions brought Victoria's first snowflakes, with the mercury plummeting below zero at Mt Hotham, bringing 15cm of fresh snow.

Conditions are expected to improve slightly tomorrow.

High winds and heavy rain has battered Melbourne over the last 24 hours, with more than 430 SES requests for assistance since midday yesterday.

SES Victoria received 25 calls about flooding, 80 for building damage and 275 reports of trees down.

Kilmore, Heidelberg, Moorabbin and Whittlesea were some of the worst hit areas.

The city peaked at 16.7 degrees today, with rain totals between 3mm and 11mm seen across Melbourne.

As much as 62mm of rain was dumped on parts of regional Gippsland since midnight.

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Tropical Cyclone Narelle has made landfall for the third time, crossing south of Coral Bay this afternoon as a category 3 storm.

The crossing came after the severe tropical cyclone pummelled parts of the West Australian coastline, ripping roofs from homes in Exmouth as it tracked south.

The historic system – which has already hit Queensland and the Northern Territory before sweeping out to sea and re-intensifying – was expected to impact an 800km stretch of coastline from the Pilbara down through the Gascoyne region today.

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The Bureau of Meteorology warned the "very destructive core", which is generating wind gusts of up to 205km/h, is "moving south-southeast with severe impacts occurring on the northern Gascoyne and far western Pilbara coasts".

"Although Narelle is weakening, severe impacts at Carnarvon remain possible this afternoon as Narelle passes by to the east," it cautioned.

Narelle passed 30km to the west of Exmouth this morning as a category 4 system, and residents reported some homes have lost roofs.

Video shows flash flooding following warnings Narelle will bring a dangerous storm tide and damaging waves to the Gascoyne coast.

West Australian Premier Roger Cook said it was a confronting situation for residents and emergency services.

"We know everyone in the north-west is made of tough stuff, but our thoughts are with you all," Cook said.

The severe weather system is sitting about 140 kilometres north of Carnarvon and is likely to severely impact the region before weakening.

"While the system is expected to slowly weaken as it moves overland between Coral Bay and Cape Cuvier, it is likely to still be a category three system as it moves just inland from Carnarvon and Shark Bay," meteorologist James Ashley said.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said there had been no reports of injury so far up until this afternoon.

"We've had 25 calls for assistance across the Pilbara, including 12 in Exmouth and 11 in the mid-west Gascoyne," Klemm said.

It will still be several hours before emergency services are able to fully assess the damage.

Bureau meteorologist Christie Johnson earlier said the system is expected to weaken as it moves past Carnarvon and Denham and approaches Kalbarri and Geraldton.

A warning zone extends west of Onslow to Jurien Bay, including Exmouth, Coral Bay, Carnarvon, Denham and Geraldton, and extending inland to Murchison and Dalwallinu.

"As it moves further south, it will weaken to a category 2 as it comes past Kalbarri and Geraldton, most likely becoming a category 1 as it moves inland of Dongara," Johnson said.

"After that, it will drop below tropical cyclone strength as it moves across the South West Land Division, eventually exiting Western Australia around tomorrow night.

"And that will be finally the end of Tropical Cyclone Narelle."

Narelle has already dumped a deluge with 197mm at Barrow Island, 180mm at Varanas Island, and 157mm at Upper Portland.

Residents were ordered indoors yesterday afternoon as an emergency alert was issued ahead of the storm making landfall.

"I got the feeling this is going to be bigger than anything I've seen, so just have to wait and see," Exmouth resident Joe Floriani told 9News.

Those in Exmouth hit the shops yesterday to stockpile on supplies before doors closed at midday.

Holidaymakers and residents loaded trucks and trailers with sandbags as preparations continued across the day.

Dozens of emergency services personnel were sent to the region, with members of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services saying they're prepared for anything.

Operators closed today and cancelled bookings just a week out from the Easter holidays.

"That's just the ride that we're on, and the place that we live in up here," Dave Gillespie from Exmouth Escape Resort told 9News.

"It's one of those extra burdens that we've got to put up with."

The system's threat also forced travellers to re-think their plans.

"We're heading up to Monkey Mia – well, we were heading up to Monkey Mia," holidaymaker Ian Roscoe told 9News.

"They've informed us they've evacuated the area, they've cancelled all the bookings."

Virgin and Qantas already scrapped nearly 40 services to the north-west of the state.

WA food bowl's third hit

Carnarvon, a town of roughly 5000 people, is forecast to be hit by a slightly downgraded but still powerful category 3 storm this afternoon or in the early evening.

If hit, it will be the third natural disaster the WA food bowl will have copped this year.

Growers have contended with a heatwave, as well as Cyclone Mitchell, which decimated crops last month.

If the crops are flattened by Narelle, it will mean no bananas for 18 months. It won't impact prices at the supermarket but it will be a devastating hit to growers.

"There's plenty of bananas in Australia, our Queensland friends have got lots over there, so there'll be plenty of bananas to go around," banana grower Les Ball told 9News.

Evacuation centre concerns

Buildings in the Canarvon region are built to cyclone standard but locals are warned not to be complacent.

"The system is packing winds in excess of well over 200km/h at the moment and all those costal places between Exmouth and Shark Bay can expect those severe wind impacts," Ashley said.

Authorities are warning locals and tourists alike to take safety seriously as Narelle approaches.

"With so much uncertainty, it's critical people stay up to date with the latest information," Klemm said.

"Look around your home and ensure there's no loose objects that can become a hazard," Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia advised.

After Carnarvon, Narelle is expected to track toward Kalbarri on Saturday, as a category 2 storm.

But the concern is there are no cyclone-rated evacuation centres between the tourist town and Geraldton.

It was a recommendation made after Cyclone Seroja smashed the region five years ago as a category 3.

"The building requirements for that area between Geraldton and Kalbarri don't require that evacuation centres, or in fact any buildings, are built to be cyclone rated," Klemm said.

Perth set for a soaking

Regardless of where and how the storm tracks, Perth is set for two days of heavy rain.

A total of more than 100mm could fall as the effects of Narelle are felt in the capital city.

Heavy rainfall and gale-force winds are forecast to start impacting the city as early as tomorrow.

Many events across Perth, including weddings, have been cancelled or postponed as the city expects a storm surge that will deliver up to 45mm today and a further 50mm on Saturday.

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