ScratchCheck Blog
Analysis, strategy, and stories from the editorial team.
Latest articles
A Gulfport man won $1 million on the only $30 ticket Mississippi sells
A Gulfport man claimed the third of ten $1 million prizes on Mississippi Millionaire Maker. It is the only $30 game the state sells, and at 78.8% it pays back more than any other ticket on a shelf that averages 66.7%.
by Jessie Jurado
A winning $1 scratch-off costs about $4.65 to reach, a $50 winner costs $175
Overall odds tell you how often a scratch-off wins. Multiply by the ticket price and you get something more useful: what a winning ticket costs you in tickets, from $4.65 at $1 to $175 at $50.
by Jessie Jurado
An Erie County man switched lottery machines and won $3 million
Dave Sabol Jr. went to a different vending machine because someone was using his usual one, and the ticket paid $3 million. It was the fifth and final top prize in a game Pennsylvania stopped selling 28 days later.
by Jessie Jurado
A 71-year-old Michigan woman won $100,000 a year for life in Millionaire For Life
A 71-year-old Ingham County woman matched five white balls in the August 20 Millionaire for Life drawing and chose $100,000 a year over $2.2 million now. Seven players nationwide have won that tier in 200 drawings, and two of them were in Michigan.
by Jessie Jurado
A Tampa gas station owner allegedly told an undercover lottery agent a $1,000 winning ticket was worth $5
Undercover Florida Lottery agents said a Tampa store owner scanned a $1,000 winning scratch-off, told them it was worth $5, and kept it. Florida stores can only cash prizes up to $599, and 129,203 unclaimed Florida prizes sit just above that line.
by Jessie Jurado
The best scratch-off odds in America are 1 in 2.28. The worst are 1 in 14.88
Overall odds on US scratch-offs run from 1 in 2.28 to 1 in 14.88, and the range inside one price point is wider than the difference between price points.
by Phil Nageotte
Idaho launched a $50 Mega Cash that enters as the 11th-best scratch game in the country
Idaho put Mega Cash ($50) and Chef’s Kiss ($5) on sale September 8. Mega Cash enters first in the state and 11th nationally, on the best odds in Idaho and two unclaimed $1 million prizes.
by Jessie Jurado
Do Quick picks win more jackpots?
Selection method does not change a ticket’s odds, and quick picks take most jackpots because they are most of the tickets. We tested the birthday-splitting theory on every Powerball and Mega Millions drawing and could not measure it.
by Jessie Jurado
A quick pick sold in Maple Heights won $1 million a year for life, Ohio's second Millionaire for Life jackpot
An auto-pick ticket sold at Libby Sunoco in Maple Heights matched all five numbers and the Millionaire Ball on September 8 to win $1 million a year for life, the third jackpot in the game’s first 199 drawings.
by Jessie Jurado
Powerball jackpots grow about a third faster per week than Mega Millions, and the $5 ticket slowed Mega Millions down
Seventeen months into the $5 Mega Millions ticket, Powerball adds a median $45.5 million a week to its jackpot against $33.3 million for Mega Millions, and Mega Millions grew faster at $2 than it does now.
by Jessie Jurado
North Carolina’s auditor says $100 of digital lottery play sends $7 to schools, and asks lawmakers to rethink the 38% target
A state performance audit explains why North Carolina lottery sales rose 51% while the share reaching schools fell from 23% to 16%: digital games that pay back 87 cents on the dollar. It asks lawmakers to decide what the 38% target is for.
by Jessie Jurado
Oregon launched three Scratch-off tickets, and the $20 Cash Money is now the top game in the state
Oregon put Cash Money ($20), Slow Much Money ($2), and Opossum Pocket Change ($1) on sale September 8. Cash Money enters as the best-rated game in the state on short odds and an untouched prize pool.
by Jessie Jurado
75-year-old Michigan man thought he won $5,000. He had actually won $1 million
A 75-year-old Montcalm County man read his King Cashword ticket as a $5,000 winner, then found the letter he had missed. It was the game’s last $1 million prize, and he took about $693,000 in cash.
by Jessie Jurado
A $29.7 million Megabucks ticket sold in Massachusetts is the biggest jackpot in the game’s 44-year history
A Megabucks ticket sold at King Mart in Holyoke matched all six numbers on September 7 for $29.7 million, the largest jackpot in the game’s history. The cash value is over $19.6 million, and nobody has claimed it yet.
by Jessie Jurado
What you actually keep on a $1,000, $10,000, $100,000 and $1 million+ lottery win
Nothing is withheld on a $1,000 win, a $100,000 winner usually gets money back at filing, and a $1 million winner owes about $87,000 more. The full ladder.
by Jessie Jurado
Texas player wins $1 million on 200X The Cash in Katy
An anonymous Katy resident claimed a $1 million top prize on the $20 200X The Cash ticket, bought at a Kroger on West Grand Parkway South. Texas has no state tax, so the check was $760,000. Two top prizes remain.
by Jessie Jurado
Why does it feel like lottery jackpot winners seem to come from small towns?
Big scratch-off wins look like they come from small towns because a press release names the store’s town, and there are 19,000 of those. Wins follow tickets, and the biggest states sell the most. Our own coverage splits about even.
by Jessie Jurado
Fall River man wins $1 million on Massachusetts scratch ticket
Dino Creador of Fall River won a $1 million prize on the $10 $4,000,000 Extreme Cash ticket, sold at a Shell on New Boston Road, and took $650,000 in cash. One $4 million and three $1 million prizes remain.
by Jessie Jurado
The $2 and $3 scratch-offs: what the tiers between $1 and $5 actually pay
There are 634 scratch-offs priced at $2 or $3 on sale in the US. They pay about 65% back, a $3 buys better odds than a $2 but no more payout, and Georgia’s versions beat the national $5 average.
by Jessie Jurado
Did adding the UK make Powerball jackpots grow faster?
One full Powerball cycle in, the jackpot reached $173 million after ten drawings against a median of $142 million for the ten cycles before the UK joined. The extra is on Saturdays, and about a quarter of it is interest rates.
by Phil Nageotte
Should you buy another $50 scratch-off after losing?
A losing $50 ticket does nothing to the next one. The median $50 game loses 70% of the time, two losses in a row happen half the time, and each ticket costs about $10.20 on average. Here is the math on chasing.
by Phil Nageotte
A friend gave an Illinois man a lottery ticket for his birthday. That gifted ticket won $1 million
A friend slipped a Lotto ticket into a Braidwood man’s birthday envelope. It matched all six numbers in the August 8 Lotto Million 2 drawing, and he thought he had won $1,000 until the prize center told him otherwise.
by Jessie Jurado
How much more do expensive scratch-offs actually pay back? It depends on the state
The extra payout you get for buying a $20 ticket instead of a $1 ticket is 17 points in Michigan and 4 points in Montana. Here is the price ladder for 33 states.
by Phil Nageotte
Did you know there's cash option on scratch-offs? A $1 million scratch-off win can be worth only $500,000 before taxes
On many scratch-offs with a $1 million or larger top prize, the number on the ticket is the total of 20 or 30 yearly payments. The cash option is lower, from about 48% to 75% of it, and tax comes off that.
by Jessie Jurado
Rhode Island launched two scratch tickets, and the $20 one is the best-rated game in the state
Rhode Island put Cash Extravaganza and Ghostbusters Jumanji on sale September 5. The $20 game enters as the best-rated ticket in the state, on short odds and a $200,000 top prize rather than a jackpot.
by Jessie Jurado
A Georgia player won $3 million on GRANT, the second of the game’s three top prizes are gone
A player who bought at a Marathon Food Mart in Columbus claimed the $3 million top prize on GRANT and took $1,546,986 in cash, the same figure the July winner received. One top prize should be left.
by Jessie Jurado
Texas sells the priciest scratch-offs in America and Louisiana the cheapest
Texas averages $18.13 per scratch-off on sale and Louisiana $4.59. Here is every state ranked by ticket price, and why a pricier shelf does not translate into a better-paying one.
by Jessie Jurado
Scratch-offs dominate the US lottery business, accounting for 65% of sales
US lotteries sold $96.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Scratch-offs were 65.3%, draw and monitor games 33.3%, and digital instants 1.4%. That last figure is measured differently from the other two.
by Jessie Jurado
A Wilkes County man won $1 million on a scratch-off and is putting it in a trust for his daughters
Michael Walsh of Boomer stopped for chicken wings in Lenoir and left with a $1 million scratch-off. He took the $600,000 lump sum, cleared $432,066, and is putting it in trust for his two daughters.
by Jessie Jurado
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 Jurado
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