Lamar Odom Update: ‘Shady’ Mystery Man Appeared At Brothel, Took NBA Star’s Belongings, Report Says
Shortly after former NBA star Lamar Odom was rushed to a Nevada hospital after he was found unconscious from an apparent drug overdose at a legal brothel in the desert outside of Las Vegas, an unidentified person described as “shady” mysteriously appeared at the brothel and claimed Odom’s personal belongings, including his cell phone, the New York Post Page Six column reported on Monday.
The unidentified man claimed to be the “manager” of the 35-year-old Queens, New York, native who rose to fame as a member of two NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers teams. But not long after the man departed the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada, about 80 miles outside of Las Vegas, one of Odom’s personal bodyguards showed up and said that he had no knowledge of the individual who made off with Odom’s personal possessions.
“I don’t know if I got conned,” said Love Ranch owner Dennis Hof, in a statement to the Post. “I think when this all shakes out, this a shady motherf****r. I didn’t recognize him. Something was up.”
The man was not apparently there to sanitize the scene where Odom reportedly went off on a four-day sex-and-drugs binge, Hof said, because police officers had already combed through the brothel by the time the “shady” mystery man arrived.
It is also unclear whether the “shady” man who took Odom’s belongings was the same person as the unidentified “assistant” who, according to a report last Friday in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, made upsetting phone calls to Odom that may have triggered the self-destructive behavior that resulted in his coma and who later appeared at the Love Ranch to collect Odom’s belongings.
That “assistant” accused Love Ranch employees of stealing from the stricken star, the Mail reported, so whether the assistant found the belongings or they had already disappeared is another mystery.
Odom was found unresponsive at the brothel on October 13, but so far, no one appears to have leaked information that may have been extracted from the cell phone belonging to the estranged husband of reality TV personality Khloe Kardashian.
Odom himself, of course, remains a member of the celebrity Kardashian clan by marriage, because his divorce from 31-year-old Khloe Kardashian was never finalized. But as Odom has emerged from his coma and shown signs of an improving medical condition, Khloe Kardashian is reportedly remaining by his side in the 730-bed Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas.
According to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News on Sunday, Odom has actually begun what is likely to be a lengthy rehabilitation process, already taking part in physical therapy treatments.
Unnamed sources who spoke to the Daily News said that Odom has not had any medical setbacks since being removed from a ventilator three days ago. The paper reported that Odom has shown the ability to hold “simple conversations,” but another report, by the celebrity news tabloid InTouch, says that Odom has been communicating primarily through written notes.
“He writes on note paper. He whispers but doesn’t talk,” another unnamed source told InTouch.
Though Odom has at least begun the physical therapy process, it is not yet known whether he is able to walk, according to the Los Angeles Daily News report. Also unknown at this point is the extent of any permanent damage to Odom’s brain that may have resulted from what has been reported to be a massive intake of the drug cocaine, as well as excessive use of an over-the-counter erectile dysfunction remedy.
Odom is believed to have consumed 10 doses of a supposedly herbal sexual performance-enhancer with the brand name Reload. But Reload, according to the United States Food and Drug Administration, actually contains sildenafil, a drug better known under the brand name Viagra and sold as a prescription-only treatment for erectile dysfunction.
Taken without medical supervision, sildenafil can have serious and dangerous side-effects and can even prove fatal.
Lamar Odom has also received visits from numerous celebrities and pro athletes, as well as from the whole Kardashian family, reportedly causing chaos in the halls of Sunrise Hospital.
[Featured Image: Michael Buckner / Getty Images]
