Money

Quarantine and chill has video game connoisseurs going nuts, and the console that's scratching their itch is the Nintendo Switch ... something you'll have to pay big bucks for nowadays.

It's true ... Nintendo Switches are the go-to video game carrier right now during the outbreak, and it seems like folks who figured that out too late are now having to pony up and pay a premium price if they wanna get their hands on one. We're talking $200-$300 markups, maybe more.

We've spoken to big box and electronic retailers like Best Buy and Target out here in the L.A. area, as well as some locations in NYC ... they all tell us the same thing -- they're completely out of Switches. No locations within 250 miles of L.A. are shipping them either.

That's not to say you can't still get a hold of one -- we've heard of some lucky gamers in L.A. snagging one off of GameStop about a week ago out of sheer luck ... it just got delivered this weekend. GameStop's site says they're out and on backorder 'til April 30, but we know one person who recently checked and found they had a few in stock online for a brief time, and they jumped on it at the regular $299 price, too. That's a steal these days.

Fact is ... if you head on over to Amazon right now, you'll see they still have them available for purchase. You'll just have to pay upwards of $400 to $500 or more to get one, which is overpriced ... but also how the market works. Supply and demand, baby!

While tons of people who have a Nintendo Switch right now are resorting to classic Mario games -- like Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc. -- and playing online with their friends ... the true hot ticket Switch item at the moment in Animal Crossing, which just came out with a new edition, "New Horizons," this past week to incredibly high fanfare.

We've heard of lines out the door -- even with quarantine regulations and social distancing in place -- over the past few days at places like Walmart, Best Buy and others, so people could pick up their pre-ordered copy. It's a simulation-type video game ... escapism at its finest.

Don't worry about David Geffen, the multi-billionaire is staying as far away from the coronavirus as possible aboard his personal escape raft ... that just happens to be a $590 million yacht.

Yes, the media mogul is aboard the "Rising Sun" cruising the Caribbean Sea, where, unfortunately for him, he has WiFi, and decided to drop a pretty tone-deaf anecdote to the world ... considering the pandemic and all.

Geffen posted a glorious wide-shot of his vessel with the caption, "Isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus. I'm hoping everybody is staying safe."

Under normal circumstances, the Internet would just hate him for flaunting his wealth. But, there's a new normal in town ... so now the Internet is ripping him for bragging that he's NOT quarantined with 3 screaming kids, a spouse and one in-law in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment in Queens ... while terrified of COVID-19.

Hard to argue against that backlash. Fact is, Geffen's been filthy rich so long, he probably only thinks of his famous and wealthy friends looking at his IG -- and forgets there are 7 billion other aggressively-less-wealthy people who will eventually see it too.

On the other hand, the guy gives a lot of his wealth to charities -- so, hopefully this becomes a teachable moment and we all move forward.

We will say this -- pretty impressive if Geffen truly is isolated on that thing. It's usually packed with A-list celebs, business titans ... and their girlfriends.

Drew Brees did way more than just write a $5 million check to Louisiana ... he's also doing the research to guarantee that money helps the state's battle against coronavirus the way he intended.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback tells TMZ ... it hurts his heart to see people losing their jobs and their livelihoods across the state and the nation -- so he and his wife, Brittany, knew they needed to do something in a time of such uncertainty.

As you know ... Drew and Brittany committed $5 million to the state. He explained why they specifically wanted to address the nutritional needs of children and the elderly during the pandemic. You can tell the Brees fam did their homework.

Drew says he knew people on the front lines treating COVID-19 patients in hard-hit Louisiana -- and New Orleans, especially -- would need all the support they could get. Ditto for the state's normally thriving hospitality industry.

Honestly, the guy is amazing and has a very focused mission: "Putting people's mind's at ease that, listen, we're gonna find a way to get through this together and take care of one another."

We have so much more with Drew on Monday's "TMZ Live" ... including his bond with the people of Louisiana, and NBC's Hoda Kotb.

Ben Stein braved the outdoors Friday to make a trek to the market ... and the image is gripping.

Ben's 75, so he's in the high-risk group. He looked frail as he hit up Pavillions supermarket in Los Angeles ... with an assist from a nurse.

The "Ferris Bueller" teacher walked slowly as he entered the store ... without protective gear.

It's a snapshot that tells a story of the frightening times we're in, where going to the grocery store becomes a scary proposition.

Post Malone is fighting coronavirus in the most Posty way possible -- he's rounding up his biggest celeb friends for a virtual beer pong tournament for the ages!!!

TMZ has learned ... the "Circles" singer teamed up with his good friend and fellow rapper, MIKE -- FKA Mike Stud -- to put on a huge Instagram Live event to raise money for COVID-19 relief, dubbed "The Ballina Cup."

We're told the bracket will include 16 teams ... with names like Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski and his SI Swim model GF Camille Kostek, Johnny Manziel, Machine Gun Kelly, Kane Brown, MLB aces Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger and more slated to participate.

So, how did this come to be?? A lot of the participants organically got involved after being guests on MIKE's "Ya Never Know: You Know What I Mean?" podcast hosted by Notorious.

The tournament will take place over 8 days starting next week ... with 2 matchups per night (from the comfort of everyone's homes. Remember, social distancing!!)

The winning team will go home with a dope trophy, wrestling belts and chains to commemorate the victory.

There are no betting odds on the tourney just yet, but remember -- MIKE and Post won $50k on a game in the past, so you know they got skillz.

We're told all the participants will chip in their fair share of dough to help those battling the coronavirus pandemic ... so it's not all just for getting lit during quarantine.

STEVE BALLMER!!!

The L.A. Clippers owner and his wife Connie just pledged more than $25 MILLION to help fight the battle against COVID-19!!!!

And, get this ... $10 MILLION of that pledge is earmarked for the Univ. of Washington Medicine’s Emergency Response Fund to expedite testing for a vaccine!!!

How 'bout them Clippers now, huh!?!?!

Of course, Steve -- who made his fortune as the CEO of Microsoft -- is reportedly worth more than $50 BILLION so, dude can afford to cut those big ass checks. It's still an awesome move.

The rest of the cash will go toward relief efforts in Seattle, Michigan and Los Angeles, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.

Ballmer is the latest big name in the sports world to pitch in -- just yesterday, Drew Brees pledged $5 MILLION to the State of Louisiana.

Conor McGregor, Rihanna, Kylie Jenner and more have also opened up their wallets.

LET'S GO!!!!

It's always smart to have a backup plan ... and the L.A. Rams are putting one together for season ticket holders if 2020 NFL games get scrapped due to coronavirus.

The team sent out a letter to Rams Nation explaining how they're planning to handle things if the COVID-19 pandemic screws up the NFL schedule.

First up ... the refund policy:

"If a game is canceled and cannot be rescheduled, or is played under conditions that prohibit fans from attending (for example, if a public authority restricts gatherings to no more than a small number of people), and you are a Rams Season Ticket Member, you will receive a pro-rata refund of your season ticket purchase price for any impacted games, or the option to credit that amount toward future playoff or regular season full season tickets for the 2021 season."

"For example, if two games were not played during the 2020 season, you would receive a refund or credit for the face value of your tickets for the two games lost."

Fair enough ... but wait, there's more!

The Rams say they understand some fans are being hit hard in the pocketbook due to the pandemic -- so they're pushing back their season ticket payment deadline to June 1.

So far, the NFL is pushing forward as if they'll be on a normal schedule -- with the draft set to go down in April.

Kim Kardashian West has jumped on ship with countless other celebs -- including her sister -- in donating a massive amount to help battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Kim just announced her SKIMS shapewear will be supporting mothers and children in need at this time with a $1 million donation. She says the money will specifically benefit families affected by COVID-19.

She says in order to bring relief to those hit hardest by the pandemic, SKIMS is restocking its original collection Monday ... and a cool mil in proceeds will be donated.

Kim's announcement comes a day after Kylie Jenner's million-dollar donation for coronavirus relief efforts. Her charitable contribution will go toward the production of face masks and other protective gear to be used by healthcare workers.

Hoda Kotb couldn't hold back her tears as she said goodbye to NFL star Drew Brees ... becoming overwhelmed with emotion because of his astounding act of kindness to combat the pandemic.

The tearful scene played out Friday morning as Hoda chatted with Drew on "Today" about his $5 million donation to Louisiana to help the state's coronavirus relief efforts.

But, watch ... immediately after she thanked Drew and told him "we love ya" she got really choked up, before openly sobbing.

Savannah Guthrie tried to console her, saying, "It's a lot. I know where your heart is, my dear" before offering to read Hoda's tease.

It's easy to see where all that emotions coming from -- Hoda established deep roots in Louisiana after working there for years earlier in her career. So, speaking to New Orleans Saints QB about the pandemic and his generosity ... was too much.

Louisiana, of course, is reportedly experiencing the fastest growth in new cases in the world. The governor there said the current trajectory of case growth is similar to those in Spain and Italy ... so Drew's donation to help local orgs combat COVID-19 will go a long way.

A vile woman purposely coughed all over a grocery store's fresh produce, resulting in a huge waste of food and rotten day for its employees ... and the authorities are pursuing charges.

According to the co-owner of Gerrity's Supermarkets, Joe Fasula ... the woman -- who he calls a "chronic problem in the community" -- entered the store in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania Wednesday afternoon and began hacking on all the fruit and veggies ... along with a small section of the bakery and meat case.

Fasula believes the woman did this as a "very twisted prank" amid the coronavirus pandemic, but she left the store no choice but to throw out all the food she came in contact with ... for obvious health and safety reasons.

The owner believed the lady's sick stunt cost the store about $35,000 worth of product, not to mention forcing workers to clean and disinfect everything along with the health inspector ... and possible COVID-19 exposure to customers and at least 15 employees.

Fasula says the silver lining is the Gerrity's team was able to remove the terrible prankster quickly and contacted police. He says the case is with the District Attorney's Office ... and it's pursuing "numerous charges."

Federal law enforcement recently announced it's considering terrorism charges for anyone purposely spreading COVID-19 ... it's unclear if this disgusting woman has coronavirus, though.

New York Sports Clubs members are pissed they're still paying, but not playing while the gyms are shut down due to the pandemic ... so they're suing.

Mary Namorato filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday against NY Sports Clubs and its parent company, Town Sports International, claiming that despite closing its doors on March 16 due to the coronavirus, it's still charging customers monthly dues.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Namorato estimates TSI is raking in around $30 million per month from its customers, who have been ordered to remain home to help stem the spread of the virus.

She calls TSI's conduct "particularly reprehensible as it is stealing hard-earned money New Yorkers now need more than ever to pay for the necessities of life -- such as food and rent for themselves and their families -- despite the fact that its gyms are closed and TSI is not able to provide the services for which it is charging customers."

What's more ... Namorato claims TSI -- which operates gyms nationwide -- has a long history of refusing to honor member cancellation requests. She also points to the Attorney General of Washington D.C. having gone after TSI not once but TWICE for similar issues in the past. The lawsuit also drags out a ton of complaints from customers ... and, for good measure, mentions TSI's "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Namorato's suing for damages and to get TSI to stop making customers jump through hoops to cancel memberships. We've reached out to TSI, so far, no word back.