Lamar Odom was “tired” and talked about the deaths of his mother and two close friends as he arrived at a Nevada brothel last weekend, workers told NBC News.
The ex-NBA and reality TV star was polite and easy to chat with, according to Love Ranch bordello manager T J Moore, who went to collect him in her car ahead of a multiple-day, $75,000 party with two women.
Odom, 35, was found unconscious there on Tuesday, and taken to a medical facility in Las Vegas where he has been unresponsive. He suffered brain damage and at least one stroke and is on a ventilator,according to sources close to the athlete.
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Investigators determined that Odom had been using cocaine on Saturday, the day he checked in to the brothel, but that it wasn’t known whether he had continued to do so during the weekend.
He had paid for a five-day package that Love Ranch owner Dennis Hof said included sex and activities like cooking, watching TV together and going out to dinner — a deal commonly called the “girlfriend experience.”
Moore collected him on Saturday afternoon after he paid a $100 deposit for transportation.
“I was actually surprised he was very easy to talk to,” Moore recalled. “We talked about a lot of things. We talked about the fact that he wanted some rest and relaxation … he had minor children so this was to be kept on the down-low.
She added: “We talked about my family, my grandsons. He just really enjoyed the ride. He did tell me about his mother, losing her at a very early age, being raised by his grandmother, and he told me about a mentor back in his school years, that got him involved in basketball and … on the positive track.”
She added that Odom also talked about the recent deaths of two close friends.
“He did talk about losing two best friends recently that did affect him … his mother’s death did affect him, he did speak about that again on Sunday,” she said. “His mother’s death did have a great affect, and so did his best friends — and I think those were real recent, this past summer if I remember right.”
Moore added: “He was tired. He was pretty tired on the way out, doing a lot of yawning, and he wanted to have a nap, and then … he would let the ladies know when he was ready to have them come down.”
A cashier at the Love Ranch said Odom “seemed normal,” adding: “He was very quiet, very tall … but he was just very cordial, had a couple of drinks, relaxing, listening to music in the bar.”
Moore declined to explain exactly what was worth $75,000 in the package Odom purchased.
“Clients negotiate behind closed doors, ladies don’t kiss and tell,” she said. “I really can’t tell you.”
NBC News’ Molly Roecker contributed to this article, which first appeared on NBCNews.com.
Morgan Radford
Alastair Jamieson