ScratchCheck Blog
Analysis, strategy, and stories from the editorial team.
Latest articles
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
Father’s Day scratch-off gift wins Michigan family a record $8 million
The Lucky Dogz club won $8 million on a $50 ticket bought as a Father’s Day gift, a Michigan record. Two more $8 million prizes are still unclaimed on the game.
by Jessie Jurado
Expensive scratch-offs usually have better payouts than cheap tickets
Scratch-offs run from $1 to $50, and the price is not just the stake. The more a ticket costs, the more of every dollar it returns and the bigger the top prize.
by Phil Nageotte
Louisiana launched 3 new scratch-offs, with one game featuring the New Orleans Saints
Louisiana put three new scratch-offs on sale August 17, priced $1 to $3. Lucky 13 Crossword rates 75.8, and none of them touches the Fire/Ice ticket that launched two weeks earlier at 98.4.
by Jessie Jurado
An Ohio teen bought his first lottery ticket minutes after turning 18 and won $10,000
Austin of Lewis Center turned 18 and bought a ticket just after midnight, winning $10,000 on a $20 Diamond Dazzler. A few hours earlier it would have been worthless.
by Jessie Jurado
What happens to lottery winnings when the winner dies?
Annuity payments do not vanish when a winner dies. They go to the estate, and so does an unclaimed winning ticket, with deadlines that do not pause for probate.
by Jessie Jurado
Maryland launched 4 new scratch-offs in August 2026
Maryland put four new scratch-offs on sale August 21. Two $10 games launched together show the crossword trade exactly: better odds, lower payout.
by Jessie Jurado
What happens if a minor buys a winning lottery ticket? The time California refused to pay a $5 million lottery ticket
A 16-year-old bought a $5 million California Scratchers ticket and the lottery refused to pay. A judge agreed. What happens when a minor holds a winning ticket.
by Jessie Jurado
We tested the most common lottery superstitions against 2,315 drawings
Lucky numbers, birthday picks and lucky socks, tested against 2,315 Powerball and Mega Millions drawings. One superstition turns out to cost real money.
by Phil Nageotte
A Chicago mom won $400,000 on a $5 ticket, and it was the last top prize in the game
A Chicago mother of three won $400,000 on a $5 In the Money ticket in Gage Park. Our data shows it was the last of the game’s three top prizes, and it is still on sale.
by Jessie Jurado
Do licensed scratch-offs like Monopoly and NFL teams pay worse? We reviewed the data
Licensed scratch-offs average 68.6% payout against 70.0% for everything else. Compare them at the same ticket price and that gap disappears entirely.
by Phil Nageotte
Is it true that you're likelier to be struck by lightning twice than to win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot?
Two lifetime lightning strikes work out at about 1 in 234 million against 1 in 292 million for a Powerball ticket. The claim holds, and the comparison is still rigged.
by Phil Nageotte
A Charlotte woman won $1 million on the best-rated $30 ticket in North Carolina
Stephenie Cunningham of Charlotte won $1 million on a $30 Max-A-Million ticket and took the $600,000 lump sum. The game rates 84.3, the best $30 ticket in the state.
by Jessie Jurado
Texas scratch-offs with the most top prizes still unclaimed
The active Texas scratch-offs with the most top prizes waiting, from a $5 game with 29 unclaimed six-figure prizes to a brand-new $20 ticket holding ten $1 million prizes.
by Jessie Jurado
What happens if you lose a winning lottery ticket?
A lottery ticket is a bearer instrument: whoever holds it can claim it. What losing one means, what signing the back changes, and the narrow paths to recovery.
by Jessie Jurado
Indiana Lottery expects to send nearly $350 million back to the state
The Hoosier Lottery will send almost $350 million to the state after nearly $1.7 billion in sales. The money funds pensions and a vehicle tax break rather than schools.
by Jessie Jurado
Denton resident claims $1 million Texas scratch-off prize, leaving one top prize on a game Texas has already replaced
A Denton resident claimed the ninth of ten $1 million prizes on Million Dollar Loteria and stayed anonymous. One is left, and Texas launched a fresh edition two days earlier with all ten intact.
by Jessie Jurado
Where a $1 million lottery win goes furthest: every state's tax rate compared
The same $1 million scratch-off win keeps about $630,000 in Texas and closer to $482,000 in New York City. The gap is entirely state and local tax.
by Phil Nageotte
Georgia launched 2 new scratch-offs on August 18, and one features the Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia put two new scratch-offs on sale August 18. $600 Cash In Hand rates 86.0 despite a $600 top prize, while the $300,000 Bulldog Bucks rates 67.0.
by Jessie Jurado