Donate a toy, play in Mario Kart tournament at Gulfport shop

GULFPORT -- Event organizers for a retro video-game store at Gulfport Premium Outlets are hoping a Mario Kart tournament will bring in lots of toys for children in need.

Courtney Cuevas, employee at Play and Talk Gulfport, said the shop is hosting a video game tournament in the store Dec. 18, starting at 5 p.m. The entry fee is a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots program.

For each toy donated, Cuevas said, Play and Talk also will donate a toy.

Players will compete in Mario Kart on the Wii U on a projection screen.

The winner will receive a Zelda doll, which retails for $100. Second place will get a Mario doll, which retails for $50. Third place will get a set of Mario and Luigi ball caps valued at $20.

"Right now, we're expecting about 20 or 30 people," Cuevas said, although the store invited more than 300 people on Facebook.

Play and Talk Gulfport buys and sells video-game systems and games. It also offers novelty items, toys and swords.

Cuevas said the store plans to host regular video-game tournaments in the next couple of months.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Donate a toy, play in Mario Kart tournament at Gulfport shop ."