Johnny Manziel addresses Las Vegas rumor with Instagram post
Some chatter on Twitter circulated Saturday night saying Johnny Manziel was at the Planet Hollywood casino in Las Vegas. This led to some eyebrow raising because Manziel’s Browns are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
One person specifically said he was playing blackjack at the same table as the Cleveland quarterback. Even USA Today Sports editor Scott Boeck said on Twitter that Manziel was at Planet Hollywood.
Here are some of the tweets:
Johnny Manziel seen @ the #LasVegas Planet Hollywood night before Steelers game
— sboeck (@scott_boeck) January 3, 2016
Johnny manziel at planet Hollywood- Browns have a game tomorrow against the steelers right? #Browns #ClevelandBrowns #NFL
— Johnny Hornacek (@Johnnyhornacek3) January 3, 2016
My friends and me just talked to Johnny Manziel at the Planet Hollywood in Vegas. Said he will be back in Cleveland in time for game Sunday
— Eric In Scottsdale (@EricNScottsdale) January 3, 2016
Hornacek, who was the source of one of the tweets, offered much more information about his alleged encounter.
@ClevelandRoks @LAndyman_ I'm sitting with a writer for the USA today. He saw him too as did our cocktail waitress- who verified it was him
— Johnny Hornacek (@Johnnyhornacek3) January 3, 2016
Hornacek said on Twitter that Manziel wanted to be called “John,” was with his girlfriend, and was a good tipper.
@Johnnyhornacek3 – cocktail waitress Tina said he was very cool and generous tipper- at least he's got that going for him
— Johnny Hornacek (@Johnnyhornacek3) January 3, 2016
@Johnnyhornacek3 – no pics- I was sitting next to him and his GF at the blackjack table- he put down his players card and wanted to be john
— Johnny Hornacek (@Johnnyhornacek3) January 3, 2016
@Browns_Fan32 – oh it was him- he pulled his hoodie over his head and bailed- his little blond GF was an exact match to pictures- no booze
— Johnny Hornacek (@Johnnyhornacek3) January 3, 2016
In what seemed to be a too-obvious-to-be-a-coincidence move, Manziel posted on Instagram for the first time in two weeks. He posted a generic photo of him with his dog, adding the hashtag “SaturdayNights.” The implication was Manziel wanted everyone to believe he was spending his Saturday night at home with his dog.
Maybe Manziel was at home with his dog Saturday night. He even added his location for the photo, which was Avon, Ohio. Maybe those people on Twitter — including a media member — were mistaken. But one thing we know is that Manziel certainly has lost the benefit of the doubt, especially after this happened.
Manziel is out for Sunday’s game with a concussion.