After serving nine years for a Las Vegas kidnapping and armed robbery, an upbeat O.J. Simpson walked out of a Nevada prison with little fanfare early Sunday to start a new life as a parolee.

The former NFL star left prison shortly after midnight local time, and was picked up by an unidentified friend, according to Brooke Keast , a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections.

"I told him, 'Don't come back,' and he responded, 'I don't intend to,' " she said. "He was upbeat, personable and seemed happy to get on with his life."