Sheriff: Lamar Odom used cocaine, sexual performance enhancers before being found unconscious
PAHRUMP — Former NBA standout Lamar Odom had been using cocaine and sexual performance enhancers days before he was found unconscious at a brothel, the Nye County sheriff's office said Wednesday.
Odom, who has an address in Henderson, has been hospitalized in Las Vegas since Tuesday. His condition was not immediately available.
In a recording of a 911 call the sheriff's office played for reporters, someone from Dennis Hof's Love Ranch says Odom had not used cocaine since Saturday, the day he arrived at the brothel.
Women who work at the ranch later said Odom, 35, had been drinking cognac and had taken cocaine before he arrived. The sheriff's office said he had taken 10 over-the-counter pills while he was at the brothel.
Drug use is "absolutely not" allowed in the Love Ranch, Hof's spokesman, Richard Hunter said.
Investigators got a warrant to draw Lamar Odom's blood, Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said. That's booked into evidence now.
Patients who use drugs known as sexual performance enhancers, including those used to treat erectile dysfunction, and are advised against mixing them with alcohol.
Odom rose to fame as a member of the 2009 and 2010 Los Angeles Lakers NBA Championship teams. His prominence increased as a member of the Kardashian family through his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. She filed for divorce in 2013 after four years, citing irreconcilable differences.
The family was distraught when told about what had happened at the brothel, Wehrly said.
"We would like to extend our best wishes to Mr. Odom and his family and are hoping for a speedy recovery," Wehrly said.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke to reporters outside Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, saying he visited Odom and that he appears to be improving.
Odom "has some responsiveness now," said Jackson, who on Tuesday had attended the Democratic presidential debate at the Wynn Las Vegas.
Five-figure suite
Love Ranch employees on Wednesday gave reporters a tour of Odom's VIP suite, which he entered through a private entrance. The trailer with laminate wood flooring and ivory-colored walls had two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.
A ballpark cost of a stay like Odom's is five figures and up, Hunter said.
Hof said Odom was picked up by the ranch from his Las Vegas Valley home and arrived at the brothel alone Saturday and stayed for four days. He was polite and reserved. Odom told several employees at the brothel that he was there to find some privacy and relax. He requested to spend Monday night alone in his suite.
Women at the ranch said Odom bought food for the whole house and "took care of everyone."
But Monday night Odom received a phone call night that "really bummed him out," Hunter said, though he didn't seem suicidal or act erratically.
Two women at at the Love Ranch in Crystal, about 30 miles north of Pahrump, called Nye County emergency personnel about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, reporting Odom was experiencing a "medical emergency" and was unresponsive, the sheriff's office said.
Hunter said he found Odom lying on his right side in a bed in his suite, snoring loudly but unresponsive with a white foamy substance coming out of his mouth.
It was unclear how long he had been unconscious before he was found.
The 6-foot-10-inch and about 230-pound Odom was too big to be transported by helicopter to Las Vegas, the sheriff's office said. Instead, he was taken by ambulance to Sunrise Hospital — about a 60 mile drive.
'He largely kept to himself'
Authorities at a Wednesday press conference said the quality of care was exactly the same in the ambulance as it would have been in a helicopter. Odom's heart never stopped on the way to the hospital, they said.
Results from Odom's blood test are at the Las Vegas police forensics lab and will take several weeks to process, Wehrly said.
"He largely kept to himself, and at no time did he engage in any drug use in the presence of anyone in the house," Hof, who owns seven brothels in Northern and Southern Nevada, said Wednesday in a news release. "He did drink alcohol from our bar, and was taking some herbal sexual enhancement capsules."
At least some of the enhancement pills were sold at the brothel, Hunter said. The pills are legal and can also be found in truck stops and sex shops, he said.
The sheriff's office hasn't determined any wrongdoing on the part of the Love Ranch, the agency said Wednesday. If any wrongdoing is found, the business could lose its operating license. Nevada is the only state where prostitution is legal. County governments regulate the businesses.
The brothel was closed Wednesday because many employees are upset, Hunter said, but the business will operate as usual Thursday, Hunter said.
It's not the first time Odom has been linked to drugs or alcohol.
In 2013, less than a week after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, Odom checked into a treatment facility near Los Angeles, according to E! News. Less than 24 hours later, he checked out.
As a youth, he committed to playing for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, led by then-coach Bill Bayno, but was released from his letter of intent in 1997, according to media reports. A "Sports Illustrated" story questioning the validity of Lamar's ACT score and an arrest for soliciting a prostitute gave the school reason to revoke Odom's scholarship, according to Bleacher Report. An NCAA investigation also revealed that Odom had received $5,600 in illicit payments from one of the school's boosters.
Reporters Colton Lochhead and Kimber Laux contributed. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl. Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @KimberlyinLV.
