It's Hard Out There For An Elmo Pimp

Tampa, FL -- A Florida man's attempt to get in early on the pre-Christmas craze for the new TMX Elmo doll led to a heated confrontation with another collector, and ultimately to a threat against his life."Andrew," who wants to protect his identity from other gun-wielding would-be Elmo collectors, says after waiting in long lines, he managed to score the last two of the hot-selling toy at a Tampa-area Target.Andrew says he gave one of the dolls to an older woman who was also in line for the toy, which retails for $39.99 and is widely touted as the hottest pre-Christmas toy release.Another man further back in line objected to Andrew's largesse. He told Andrew he had a loaded gun and would have "no problem" shooting him over the toy.Tampa police say the alleged gun-toting toy hunter is a familiar face at the store, and is known by employees as "Hot Wheels," for his interest in trading toy cars. Police believe a slowing market in Hot Wheels collectibles has led the man to try to move into the TMX Elmo reselling trade, where the toy is fetching at least $20 over retail in online trading.Meanwhile, Andrew is undeterred by his brush with the extremist collector. He says he's headed back into the dangerous world of talking stuffed toys, looking for more TMX Elmos to capitalize on the pre-Christmas craze. But he has words of warning for other would-be Elmo speculators: "This Elmo game is dirty," he says.