OJ Simpson is rebounding quite nicely from his nine-year stay behind bars at the far-off and secluded Lovelock Correctional Center, with the paroled felon selecting a golf course-adjacent Las Vegas mansion as his post-prison pad.
The disgraced football star is shacking up at the $1.8 million home of a friend, which is located in a private gated community just miles from The Strip.
Simpson – whose penchant for the high life appears to have remained intact despite his time in the middle of the desert – will be living at the 5,000 square-foot property which boasts 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, a backyard putting green and pool for the next few months as he sorts out his next move.
It is a drastic shift for Simpson, 70, who has spent most of the past decade cohabiting a 125 square-foot cell that came with nothing more than a bunk bed, toilet and sink.
He is adjusting well however, and on Monday was photographed, putting, hanging by the pool and entertaining his daughter Arnelle at the property as if he had lived there for years.
This is not the first time Simpson has crashed at the pad, having previously moved in for his 2008 armed robbery trial.
Simpson spent the first day of his post-prison life hiding out at his new Las Vegas residence, where on Monday he got to spend some quality time with his daughter Arnelle.
The paroled felon was photographed lounging by the pool as he reunited with his oldest daughter and she showed him what looked to be photos on her phone.
Arnelle, 48, may have also been giving the old man a tutorial as he was behind bars just two months after the devices were first released in late 2007.
Later, he could be seen sitting alone by the pool while tinkering with what appeared to be a brand new iPhone, one of the things his lawyer had previously stated he was most looking forward to getting after his release from Lovelock Correctional Center.
Simpson – who took advantage of his expanded wardrobe options by outfitting himself in a Titleist golf visor, white polo, blue mesh shorts and a fresh new pair of white orthopedic sneakers – spent the morning practicing his golf game ahead of Arnelle’s arrival.
He could be seen brushing up on his putting skills on the backyard green at his new residence, ahead of his inevitable return to the links this week. Simpson opted not to wear a glove.
Simpson will be spending these first few weeks focusing on his three favorite things according to multiple people close to the former football star – family, friends and golf.
Simpson was seen in public for the first time since his prison release when he stopped off at a gas station just outside Las Vegas around 6am on Sunday.
He sat in the backseat of a white SUV alongside the five boxes of personal belongings he took from his nine years behind bars as he and good friend Tom Scotto made their way to Las Vegas, where Simpson will be forced to live until a parole officer approves any planned move outside the state.
Prison officials later told DailyMail.com that Simpson took legal papers and his prison hot plate with him when he left the facility, among other things.
His release was carefully planned meanwhile, with a decoy van heading down the main road from the prison as Simpson and Scotto drove off down an unmarked dirt road nearby.
Simpson was outfitted in same jean hat, jean shirt, jeans and white sneakers he had on when he left Lovelock earlier in the day as he was asked what it felt like to finally be a free man.
‘I been in a car for the last five hours, so how do I know how it feels to be out?’ scoffed Simpson.
Scotto had run into the gas station when the cameraman approached Simpson, who was sitting all alone in the vehicle.
‘Man, how in the world – have y’all been stalking me?’ he asked with a chuckle.
‘I been in nowhere USA for the last nine years doing nothing. Nothing has changed in my life! What do you guys – I mean, what do you guys expect? There’s nothing changed.
He then added: ‘God bless, take care, you guys! Nothing’s changed!’
That same day Simpson also enjoyed some McDonald’s according to his lawyer Malcolm LaVergne, before settling into his new residence.
Simpson had been preparing for his release from behind bars in the weeks before he was set free.
A spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Corrections told DailyMail.com back in July that Simpson has been removed from the general population at Lovelock and placed in a separate area of the prison for his ow protections.
The decision to move Simpson, 70, was made by the staff at Lovelock, and was not the result of any immediate threat.
The former football great was granted parole in July after nine years in prison.
Simpson celebrated the decision of the prison board with his four guests in attendance that day: LaVergne, his close friend Scotto, his sister Shirley Baker, and Arnelle.
He began grinning from ear-to-ear as soon as the board announced their decision, then made his way back into the prison where he will remain incarcerated until Sunday or Monday.
It was revealed during the hearing that Simpson would be returning to Florida if released, with the convicted felon joking that he did not think the state of Nevada wanted him to stick around after completing his prison sentence.
The football star will also have a sizable nest egg waiting for him, having made over $400,000 from his NFL pension in the time since he has been in prison.