ScratchCheck Blog
Analysis, strategy, and stories from the editorial team.
Michigan launched four new scratch-offs for September 2026
Michigan put four scratch-offs on sale September 1, from a $2 ticket to a $20 one. The $20 Triple Diamond Payout enters sixth in the state, and the four together show how steep Michigan’s price ladder is.
by Jessie JuradoLatest articles
Massachusetts woman wins first $15 million scratch-off jackpot
Lori Morales of Springfield won the $15 million grand prize on the $30 Magnificent Millions ticket, bought at a Chicopee Cumberland Farms, and took $9.75 million in cash. Two grand prizes are still out.
by Jessie Jurado
Many scratch-offs advertise $1 million or more but pay it over 20 to 30 years
Ninety-three US scratch-offs put $1 million or more on the front and pay it out over 20 to 30 years. The cash option can be as little as 48% of the number on the ticket.
by Jessie Jurado
Someone finally won the $35.5 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot on a ticket sold in Washington, Indiana
A single ticket sold at a Casey’s in Washington, Indiana matched all six numbers in the September 2 Hoosier Lotto drawing to win $35.5 million, the game’s first jackpot since August 2025.
by Jessie Jurado
A Michigan man used his Sunday can-return money on a scratch-off and won $500,000
A 39-year-old Livingston County man returns cans every Sunday and buys lottery tickets with the money. This week one of them, a $5 Stampede Payout, paid $500,000.
by Jessie Jurado
New Hampshire launched five scratch-offs at once, and "Six Figures" is now the top game in the state
New Hampshire put five scratch-offs on sale September 3. The $10 Six Figures enters as the best-rated game in the state, the $5 Kaboom is fifth, and the $5 Patriots ticket tops out at $250.
by Jessie Jurado
What do Powerball winners actually win? We analyzed 1,398 drawings
We counted the winners in every Powerball drawing since 2015. An average drawing makes 614,000 winners, and 564,500 of them win exactly $4.
by Jessie Jurado
New Jersey lottery players won $5.3 million in one week, led by a $2.97 million courier ticket
Nineteen New Jersey players won at least $10,000 last week, $5,320,145 in all. The $2,975,145 Jersey Cash 5 jackpot came through the Jackpocket courier app and lists no store or town.
by Jessie Jurado
A Michigan woman is accused of passing stolen scratch-offs at three South Carolina stores in one day
SLED charged Keaysha Sincere Warren, 23, of Flint, Michigan with three felony counts. Warrants allege scratch-offs were taken from two South Carolina stores and passed at three others on June 22, 2025.
by Jessie Jurado
New Jersey launches "7's" scratch-off tickets, and one of them is the 2nd best game in the state
New Jersey put Sapphire, Emerald and Black Opal 7’s on sale, completing a $2 to $20 ladder with July’s Ruby 7’s. Black Opal enters at 92.0, second in the state.
by Jessie Jurado
Can a felon win and claim a lottery prize?
A criminal record does not disqualify a lottery winner. The prize is yours, though garnishment for restitution, child support or other debts can come out before the check.
by Jessie Jurado
Virginia launched four new scratch-offs and the $20 one is the best game in the state
Virginia put Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum 7s on sale from $1 to $20. Platinum 7s enters at 91.5 and Gold 7s at 79.8, the top two games in the state.
by Jessie Jurado
A UK player won $1 million on Powerball for the first time
A UK ticket matched five white balls in the August 31 Powerball drawing for $1 million, the first Match 5 prize the game has paid in Britain. A New York player won the same.
by Jessie Jurado
North Carolina launches new "Taxes Paid" scratch-offs
North Carolina’s four new Taxes Paid scratch-offs gross each prize up by 38.87% to cover withholding. Withholding is not the tax bill, so the $1 million game leaves $862,449.
by Jessie Jurado
A Tennessee man won $5 million on a North Carolina scratch-off he bought on a work trip
Shannon Hilmon of Hampton, Tennessee won $5 million on a $30 North Carolina scratch-off bought on a work trip. He took $3 million and received $2,160,308.
by Jessie Jurado
Ohio launched four scratch-offs at once, and the $20 Ultimate Triple 777 ranks second in the state
Ohio put four scratch-offs on sale at $2 to $20. Ultimate Triple 777 enters at 92.1, second in the state, though only the $2 beats its national average on payout.
by Jessie Jurado
Arizona just launched the highest-paying scratch-off in the country at 88.7%
Arizona’s new $30 Show Me The Bens returns 88.7% of sales as prizes, the highest of any active scratch-off in the country, with odds of 1 in 2.76.
by Jessie Jurado
Texas launched four Lucky 7 scratch-offs, and one of them is now the top-scoring game in the state
Texas put four Lucky 7 scratch-offs on sale at $5 to $50. The $50 enters our rankings at 96.2, the highest in the state, though all four pay at or below the national average.
by Jessie Jurado
$1 million Pennsylvania scratch-off winner sold in Philadelphia
A $1 million Win Win Win ticket sold at a Philadelphia store, earning it a $5,000 bonus. Four Pennsylvania $10 games share the same 76.8% payout and score 23 points apart.
by Jessie Jurado
A father of nine won $50,000 on a Cashword ticket in Ohio
A Lorain man's car broke down two weeks ago, so he was walking to work when he stopped at a Daily Mart and bought the $30 Cashword ticket that paid $50,000.
by Jessie Jurado
A Michigan woman won $1 million on a $10 ticket
A Kent County player won $1 million on a $10 scratch-off and took about $693,000 in cash. That 69.3% rate is far better than a Mega Millions winner gets.
by Jessie Jurado
345 scratch-offs are still on sale with no top prize left to win
345 of the 3,000-ish active US scratch-offs have zero top prizes left, one in eight. Where they are, which ones have the most print run left, and how to check.
by Jessie Jurado
The big difference in payouts between the cheapest and most expensive scratch-off tickets
Across 2,413 active US scratch-offs, $1 tickets return 61.9% of sales as prizes and $50 tickets return 79.7%. The full ladder, and why cheap tickets pay less.
by Jessie Jurado
Florida’s $800 million Mega Millions winner comes forward
The Bradenton winner took the $344.2 million cash option on an $800 million jackpot. After federal tax and with no Florida state tax, that is about $217 million.
by Jessie Jurado
Which states have the best scratch-offs?
Massachusetts scratch-offs return an average of 77.8% of sales as prizes. New Mexico returns 60.5%. The full 38-state ranking, and why the average can mislead.
by Jessie Jurado
Middle school teacher says she can buy her dream car after winning $10 million on a $50 North Carolina scratch-off
Jena Johnson of Goldston won $10 million on 500X The Cash, the best-scoring active game in North Carolina. She took $6 million and received $4,320,614.
by Jessie Jurado
Judge rejects $750,000 California scratch-off claim and awards lottery $153,200 in legal fees
A Los Angeles judge entered judgment for the California lottery and awarded it $153,200 in fees. State lawyers said the $750,000 ticket had been taped back together.
by Jessie Jurado
A man is accused of stealing lottery tickets during a job interview, then trying to cash them
SLED charged a Horry County man with three felony counts after warrants alleged he took lottery tickets during a job interview in Florence and tried to cash them.
by Jessie Jurado
What happens when two people win the same jackpot?
A shared jackpot divides equally and each winner picks cash or annuity alone. It has happened in 6 of 76 Powerball runs, including the $1.787 billion two-way split.
by Jessie Jurado
A man in Ohio bought a scratch off ticket on the clerk’s advice and won $1 million
A Grafton man won $1 million on $1,000,000 Stacked after the store owner pointed out it was ticket #13. He took the annuity, and the tax math favors that choice.
by Jessie Jurado
Connecticut launched four new Monopoly scratch-offs at once
Connecticut put $1, $2, $5 and $10 Monopoly scratch-offs on sale the same day. Payout runs from 63.0% to 69.4%, and the $10 is the 3rd-best Monopoly ticket in the country.
by Jessie Jurado
Georgia player wins $2.5 million on one of the state’s strongest $20 scratch-offs
A Sandersville player won $2.5 million on Millionaire Jumbo Bucks. Two top prizes remain, and Georgia runs 18 games under the Jumbo Bucks name scoring 9.3 to 86.0.
by Jessie Jurado
Florida, Texas, and California: which big state treats scratch off players best?
California, Florida and Texas run their scratch racks very differently. California has the best odds and zero dead games; Florida has 15 games with no top prize left.
by Jessie Jurado
Powerball and the NFL are launching a new $5 weekly lottery game
Powerball Xs & Os pairs Powerball with the NFL in a $5 weekly game. Its fixed tiers return $1.66, so the jackpot needs about $35 million to make a ticket break even.
by Jessie Jurado
Mega Millions promised $800 million jackpots after increasing the ticket price to $5. Seven wins in, the average is $418 million.
Mega Millions projected average jackpots above $800 million after going to $5. The seven jackpots won since average $417.6 million, slightly below the old format.
by Jessie Jurado
The best scratch-off in every state right now
The single highest-rated active scratch-off in each of 44 states, ranked. Washington DC leads the country at 99.3, and 26 of the 44 leaders cost $20 or more.
by Jessie Jurado
What time are Powerball and Mega Millions drawings, and how late can you buy a ticket?
Powerball draws at 10:59 p.m. ET Monday, Wednesday and Saturday; Mega Millions at 11:00 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday. When sales stop is a different question, and it varies by state.
by Jessie Jurado
A Hampton player won $6 million on Set for Life in Virginia
A Hampton player won $6 million on Virginia’s Set for Life and took a $3,114,000 cash option, just 51.9% of the advertised prize. One top prize is left.
by Jessie Jurado
North Carolina lottery sales jumped $1.2 billion while the state’s education share fell
North Carolina lottery sales rose $1.21 billion in fiscal 2025 while money for education fell $16 million. Digital instant games paying 88.5% explain most of it.
by Jessie Jurado
Kentucky lottery scam allegedly took more than $80,000 with a fake $250 million prize
Graves County residents lost more than $80,000 to a fake $250 million prize after being told to pay IRS fees. US lottery tax is withheld from the prize, never paid upfront.
by Jessie Jurado
A Harwich man won the $4 million grand prize on 100X and says he's buying a house
Jose Valerio of Harwich won the $4 million grand prize on Massachusetts 100X and took $2.6 million cash. Our daily tracking caught the count fall from two to one.
by Jessie Jurado
Four in 10 scratch-off wins only give you your money back
Across every active US scratch-off, 39.6% of printed prizes equal the ticket price exactly. On $1 games it is 49%. What that does to the published odds.
by Phil Nageotte
A Templeton man won $1 million on a 100X ticket in Massachusetts
Robert Archambault of Templeton claimed $1 million on a 100X ticket and took $650,000 cash. Massachusetts runs seven games called 100X, and they are not the same ticket.
by Jessie Jurado
California launched 3 new scratch-offs, but only one stands out
California put three new scratch-offs on sale August 24. $5,000,000 Extreme Cash rates 86.0 and lands fourth in the state; the $5 and $2 tickets fall well short.
by Jessie Jurado
South Carolina convenience store worker charged in alleged lottery ticket fraud
A 19-year-old Charleston store worker faces three felony counts over lottery tickets. Each carries up to $50,000 and five years. The charges are unproven allegations.
by Jessie Jurado
Crossword scratch-offs win more often, but pay back less
Across 143 crossword scratch-offs, the format wins more often than other tickets at every price above $2 and returns less money. The trade, priced out.
by Phil Nageotte
Kansas launched 3 new scratch-offs, and two of them went straight to the top of the state
Kansas put three new scratch-offs on sale August 24. $20,000 Frenzy and Fire & Ice Tripler took the top two spots in the state, both with odds better than 1 in 3.
by Jessie Jurado
Michigan now lets stores cash lottery prizes up to $999.99
Michigan raised its counter payout limit to $999.99, but no active Michigan scratch-off prints a prize between $600 and $999.99. The W-2G change matters more.
by Jessie Jurado
How much lottery money goes unclaimed each year?
The $2 billion figure everyone quotes came from a 2018 interview. Using Census data and the rates states actually disclose, the real range is $1.05bn to $1.68bn.
by Jessie Jurado