Summary: Lamar Odom is fighting for his life in a Las Vegas hospital after he allegedly overdosed in a Nevada brothel earlier this week.
Lamar Odom, a former NBA player and reality TV star, is hospitalized and in serious condition after he was discovered unconscious at a Nevada brothel. According to TMZ, his chance of survival is “50/50.”
At around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, law enforcement was called to the Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada, which is about 70 miles away from Las Vegas. According to Sheriff Sharon A. Wehrly, the police were told an unresponsive man needed an ambulance.
Odom, 35, was stabilized and transported to Desert View Hospital in Pahrump, Nevada. Though medical professionals wanted to airlift Odom to a Las Vegas hospital, at 6’10”, the basketball player was too tall for the helicopter. He was transported by ambulance to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas.
Read about some of the lawsuits that have involved the Kardashian/Jennfer families here.
The former Los Angeles Laker player, who was also married to Khloe Kardashian, was being treated in the Las Vegas hospital on Tuesday night. The pair’s marriage was chronicled in their series “Khloe and Lamar,” which was broadcast by E!. Several reporters have stated that Odom had drugs in his system, and a source at the hospital has said he may have overdosed. However, specific drugs have not been named.
Khloe, her sister (Kim Kardashian West), and their mother (Kris Jenner) rushed to be at Odom’s side. Kendall Jenner, Kim and Khloe’s half-sister, tweeted a concerning message on Wednesday morning: “Please don’t go.”
Former teammate Kobe Bryant has also been at the hospital with Odom and his family. According to CBS News, Kris Humphries, ex-husband of Kim Kardashian West, tweeted, “Everyone please pray for @RealLamarOdom to make it through this. Great player, even better person!”
Dennis Hof, the owner of the Love Ranch and a few other brothels in Nevada, said that Odom had been a guest of the brothel for four days. According to Hof, “He was polite and reserved, and he told multiple employees that he was there to get some privacy and spend some time relaxing.”
Read about Khloe and Lamar’s rocky relationship here.
Hof adds, “He did get a phone call on Sunday that upset him a little bit, but I don’t know what that was about, but after that he regrouped, and he was eating good. Sleeping good and just having a good time.” According to TMZ, Hof may have been staying at the brothel for free, even though prices range from $5,000 to $10,000 a night—depending on how many women keep you company.
After a couple of women didn’t hear from Odom for several hours, they checked on him Tuesday afternoon and found him facedown and unconscious.
The women called 911. At the instruction of the operator, they turned him on his side. At that point, he began “throwing up all kinds of stuff.” TMZ has posted a picture of the room where Odom was staying:
Hof recalls, “He looked terrible. He looked like a guy who was really sick and needed to be rushed to an ER immediately . . . [Paramedics] told us it wasn’t looking good, he might not make it.” He adds, “It’s incredibly sad.”
Hof claims he does not know if Odom had any significant drug use. However, he says Odom took herbal Viagra and “did drink alcohol from our bar,” including an undisclosed amount from a bottle of cognac.
According to Hof, “The police looked through his things, and they didn’t tell us they found anything. The girls that were hanging out with him didn’t see any use of any illegal drugs at all.”
Hof has considered running for the U.S. Senate and once had his own reality show on HBO, Cathouse.
Read about Odom’s alleged drug use here.
At the time of publication, TMZ was reporting that four of Odom’s organs, including his kidneys, were failing, and that the athlete had suffered a series of strokes–”the apparent result of complications from drug use.”
Odom won two NBA championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. He won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2011. After playing for the Lakers, the team tried to trade him to New Orleans in exchange for Chris Paul. Odom eventually transferred to Dallas in a separate deal. He last played in the NBA in 2013. His fame grew when he married Khloe Kardashian.
Kardashian filed for divorce in 2013, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce has not yet been finalized.
In recent episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kardashian and Odom’s occasional contact has been highlighted. In several scenes, Kardashian calls Odom to check in on him.
In the September 20 episode of the show, Kardashian said, “Lamar and I loved each other deeply, and I don’t believe in acting like that relationship never happened. . . . I’m still, no matter what, his friend, and I care to see if he is alive for the day.”
The duo got hitched after dating for just a month in 2009. Odom has a son, Lamar Jr., and a daughter, Destiny, from a previous relationship.
Odom has been touched by several tragedies throughout his life. His 6-month-old son died in 2006 from SIDS, and his cousin, with whom he had a close relationship, passed away during the 2010-2011 season. Odom’s best friend Jamie Sangouthai died this past June after he contracted a flesh-eating bacteria due to dirty needle use. A few weeks later, his buddy Bobby Heyward died from a drug overdose. The October 3 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians showed Kardashian speaking with a devastated Odom after he heard of Sangouthai’s death.
Odom’s troubles have seemingly spiraled out of control in recent years. Shortly before his divorce was filed, he pleaded no-contest to drinking and driving. Odom was also suspended during the 2000-2001 season for breaking the NBA’s anti-drug policy two times in eight months. Additionally, Odom was a passenger in a car that was involved in an accident that killed a cyclist.
After the call to Odom when Sangouthai died, Khloe said, “I’m really on high alert for Lamar, because, I mean, anything, I think, will set him to spiral and that’s kind of the last thing I want for him.”
Source: Fox News
Additional sources: CNBC, TMZ
Photo credit: ABC News (top), CNBC (middle), TMZ (bottom)