Hundreds of Scratch-Offs Are Still on Sale With All The Top Prizes Already Gone
A scratch-off can have every last one of its top prizes claimed and still sit there on the counter for sale, carrying the same eye-catching jackpot across the front and the same odds on the back, and nothing about the ticket in your hand will tell you that the big money all got claimed months ago.
As of this writing on July 31, 2026, there are 411 active games around the country still on sale with zero top prizes left, and plenty of those are the expensive tickets rather than the leftover dollar games nobody particularly wants.
Some of the bigger examples
The one that stands out sits in Texas, where a $100 ticket called $20 Million Supreme remains on sale with every one of its $20 million top prizes long since claimed, so at a hundred dollars a play you would be buying into a game whose entire reason for existing has already gone to somebody else.
| State | Game | Price | Top prize (all claimed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $20 Million Supreme | $100 | $20,000,000 |
| Missouri | $5,000,000 Fortune | $50 | $5,000,000 |
| Colorado | $3,000,000 Millionaire Maker | $50 | $3,000,000 |
| Idaho | $1,000,000 Cash | $50 | $1,000,000 |
| New York | $10,000,000 Deluxe | $30 | $10,000,000 |
| New Jersey | $5,000,000 Fortune | $30 | $5,000,000 |
| Michigan | Colossal Cashword | $30 | $2,000,000 |
| Virginia | Winners Club | $30 | $1,000,000 |
Why states keep selling them
In nearly every state this is entirely legal, because a lottery isn't required to pull a game on the day its last top prize goes. Games get formally ended on a schedule instead, so until that date arrives the tickets carry on shipping and selling, and since the game can still pay out its smaller and mid-tier prizes it stays a live product as far as the lottery is concerned, whatever the person buying it happens to be chasing.
We came at the same trap from a different angle in why you are playing scratch-offs wrong.
How to avoid it
Checking takes about ten seconds and it's the most useful habit you can build at the counter: before you buy, look at how many top prizes the game has left. Every state lottery publishes the figure, and we track it for every game alongside a ValueScore™ that falls automatically as those prizes get claimed, so if the count reads zero you can put the ticket back and pick one whose big money is still sitting out there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do stores sell scratch-offs after the top prize is gone?
Yes. In most states a game keeps selling until the lottery formally ends it, which can be long after the last top prize is claimed. As of late July 2026 we count more than 500 active games with zero top prizes remaining.
How do I know if a scratch-off still has its top prize?
Check the prizes remaining data before you buy. State lottery sites publish it, and we track it for every game. If the top-prize count is zero, the biggest reason to buy that game is gone even though the odds on the back look unchanged.
Is it illegal to sell a scratch-off with no top prize left?
No, it is legal in nearly every state, which is exactly why the responsibility falls on you to check. A game with its top prizes claimed can still pay smaller prizes, but you are playing for a jackpot that no longer exists.
Phil Nageotte is a writer covering scratch-off odds, expected value, prize data, and more. He joined ScratchCheck in 2026 after years of tracking lottery payouts in spreadsheets of his own.
