BATON ROUGE - A childhood hobby is turning into a high-dollar side business in Baton Rouge. 

Pokémon has been around for decades, but what looks like a simple trading card game is now a big business in the capital area.

The craze that has collectors lining up hours before store doors open comes from a mix of nostalgia and value. 

"There's cards that are $200,000 plus. Some of the cards are like a house payment and it's a piece of cardboard that you can hold in your hand," owner of Crazy Cajun Collectibles, Garret Richard said. 

Collecting the cards is described as a gamble by collectors, with most card packs consisting of common cards, with only a few containing rare cards worth thousands. 

The value of the card depends on the Pokémon, the artwork and even the layout of the card.

"I came because I was looking for some Pokémon cards. I play a lot of card games, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic, but Pokémon's been something I've been playing since the 90s," said card enthusiast Winston Gentle. 

While the Pokémon card market is unpredictable, buyers continue to open packs hoping to strike gold.