"Hotel manager name is Jesse, first person to say my name Ocho Cinco to Jesse at the Marriot we about to act a donkey in the mall."

That simple message -- complete with spelling, grammar and punctuation flexibility -- set off a storm of excitement last night at the Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh after it was posted by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco on Twitter, the blogging service that allows users to communicate in brief messages, or "tweets."

More than 50 people turned up at the hotel. Many more called the front desk to ask to speak to "Jesse," hoping for a chance at a shopping spree paid for by the athlete formerly known as Chad Johnson.

Mr. Ochocinco is known for outrageous antics that have generated lots of publicity -- and a number of NFL fines -- through his career. In the past week alone he was fined $20,000 for brandishing a dollar bill at an official during a replay review against Baltimore. He also earned a rebuke from his coach after he posted on Twitter that he would send mustard to the Steelers' defensive backs because they couldn't "ketch up" with him today at Heinz Field. He also promised to put on a celebration to earn another fine.

Last night, he tweeted the invitation to go shopping at the Monroeville Mall.

"Jesse" is Jesse Staiger, 30, of Glenshaw, one of the hotel's shift managers, who until yesterday had never met Mr. Ochocinco.

Mr. Staiger said he learned of the gimmick through a phone call at the hotel shortly after the item was posted to Mr. Ochocinco's followers via his verified Twitter account at about 4:30 p.m. Within 15 minutes, David Anderson, 22, of North Point Breeze, walked up to the front desk and asked for "Jesse."

"We're still getting calls," Mr. Staiger said about six hours later. "They've had to start telling people I'm gone for the day."

Mr. Anderson couldn't be reached. But from the later postings on Twitter, and a photograph that was added, it appeared everyone in the party had a good time. "I thought it was pretty neat," said Mr. Staiger, who vowed to remain a Steelers fan. "It was all in fun."

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