The news broke about Lamar Odom’s medical situation that took place at the Love Ranch South, in Crystal on Oct.13 as he was arriving at Desert View Hospital in Pahrump about 20 miles away.
The reasons why the news got out so quickly is that one of the girls at the Love Ranch where Odom was found unconscious tipped off a Las Vegas-based media group.
A legal courtesan at the Love Ranch by the name of Bunny Lain, who was one of the employees who found Odom unresponsive, was responsible for the initial tip that led to TMZ obtaining the information that set off a worldwide news frenzy.
The revelation that it was in fact an employee of the Love Ranch who made the initial call contradicts what Love Ranch owner Dennis Hof told the Pahrump Valley Times on Thursday.
He said it could have been anyone, naming the ambulance crew and hospital staff as possible culprits, but said no one at the Love Ranch had any reason to leak the info.
An associate of Stringer News Group out of Las Vegas by the name of Popeye Few, got a call from the woman at the brothel where Odom spent all weekend and told him about Odom’s situation.
Few passed it off to another associate of Stringer Media who informed Few to contact the celebrity gossip site TMZ as he thought the story was “too big for them to handle.” So Few emailed TMZ’s tip line with the information about Odom’s dire situation.
“She called and said, ‘You wouldn’t believe what just happened, Lamar Odom just left out of here in an ambulance,'” Few said. “I got off the phone with her and I just sent an email to TMZ. They called me back within one minute.
“When they called me, they asked if it was true and I said it’s as true as I know and he told me, ‘I’m going to make sure if it’s true or not.’ So after he found out (it happened) that’s when TMZ had posted it on their website within like a half hour.”
The other associate of Stringer Media who asked to remain anonymous, said since the tip from the woman, he hasn’t been able to reach her.
“Now she won’t talk to me. Now she is like, what did I do. Now she’s afraid that she’s going to get fired, or not be allowed back and she makes a lot money out there. She hasn’t returned my call since then.”
TMZ reported on Monday night that Lain was missing since Saturday, but quickly updated the story saying that a source told them she was safe and with her family, staying out of the public’s eye.
When reached for comment about the tip coming from one of his employees, Hof was understandably angry.
“I don’t know what to say except she’s out of line and she’s also sold out info to Inside Edition for $200,” Hof said. “I hope she spends her money wisely. She’s not welcome around here.”
Employees at the Love Ranch were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement to keep Odom’s visit to the brothel quiet and Hof said Lain was part of the group who obliged.
Hof explained that customers have flocked to the Love Ranch since the news of Odom broke and that although the tip may have broken his trust with the woman, it definitely didn’t break his pocketbook.
“Business has tripled,” he said. “It’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it?”
The 35-year-old former NBA player was initially transported to Desert View Hospital before being transferred to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. Odom, who is the estranged husband of Khloe Kardashian, was taken by that family on Monday to a hospital in the Los Angeles area to continue his recovery.
Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.