Both strategies seem good. It's really up to you on what you want to gamble for:
Saving tokens: head start in act 2, earlier start on bonuts
Spending now: getting bonuts now
To figure out which is the best option, I'd need to know the spawn rate, currency amount dropped by gamblers and bonut amounts in the next two acts. Without that information who knows which option is best.
The information I do have is that the total prize amount in the next two acts is lower, so I'm betting that the amount of currency we get is lower and therefore spending now. Again, it's a gamble either way without knowing which one will payout.
The other thing to consider is not levelling up in crafting. I get most of my crafting currency from Moe's.