Winning them in person can be the cheapest way to get new strikes, or duplicates to trade. It can also be the most expensive, if you hit a cold streak.

As far as the time it takes to win one, it's only a matter of minutes, and you get the thrill and enjoyment from playing the machine.

If all you are going to do is buy strikes, you can stay home and find dealers, because almost everything is available for a reasonable price.

Don't pay a huge price, because in time you can find almost everything for a reasonable cost.

Ask any investment advisor and they will tell you the same thing. Don't expect the market for these tokens to grow or the values to climb. This is true of any collectible...

Collect for fun.