MEGA CrosswordCalifornia Scratch-Off Odds & Prizes Remaining
The California Lottery sells MEGA Crossword as a $5 ticket. On average it pays back about $0.69 per $1, $0.02 less than the median $5 game in California. Free tickets make up 33% of its winners.
Should I Buy This Ticket?
- At $0.69 back per $1, the return here is middle-of-the-road for this price point.
- Middling prize quality: a fair number of the bigger prizes are still in play.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate · Updated October 19Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Odds | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $75,000 | 1 in 1,218,848 | 35 | 15 | 43% |
| $5,000 | 1 in 80,795 | 528 | 244 | 46% |
| $1,000 | 1 in 39,427 | 1,082 | 487 | 45% |
| $500 | 1 in 3,077 | 13,862 | 5,796 | 42% |
| $100 | 1 in 600 | 71,150 | 29,739 | 42% |
| $50 | 1 in 315 | 135,546 | 56,887 | 42% |
| $30 | 1 in 200 | 213,342 | 89,827 | 42% |
| $25 | 1 in 160 | 266,915 | 111,984 | 42% |
| $20 | 1 in 40 | 1,066,570 | 451,492 | 42% |
| $15 | 1 in 21 | 2,025,976 | 855,724 | 42% |
| $10 | 1 in 12 | 3,626,455 | 1,549,528 | 43% |
| $5 Free ticket | 1 in 11 | 3,732,722 | 1,666,899 | 45% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Ticket Statistics
Prize History
Top prizes left
Since July 11, when our records for it began, 9 $75,000 top prizes have been reported claimed, leaving 15. The most recent was on October 16.
- October 16, 20261 claimed · 15 left
- October 7, 20261 claimed · 16 left
- September 3, 20261 claimed · 17 left
- August 28, 20261 claimed · 18 left
- August 12, 20261 claimed · 19 left
- August 6, 20261 claimed · 20 left
How fast it's selling
Over the last 4 weeks, about 1.4% of this game's prizes were reported claimed each week, close to the average for California's $5 games (1.5% a week).
From ScratchCheck's daily record of the lottery's published prize counts. Dates are when a claim first appeared in those counts, and small prizes are often cashed days after purchase, so claims trail actual sales.
ValueScore™ Breakdown
Game Details
- State
- California
- Game Number
- 1717
- Ticket Price
- $5
- Start Date
- 2/16/2026
- Payout %
- 68.9%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 10/19/2026
Compare
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Frequently Asked Questions
Every $5 ticket in California
All 12 ranked →| Game | ValueScore | Odds | Payout | Top prize · left | Claimed per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holiday Delight | 64 | 1 in 3.76 | 70.7% | $250K · 10 | - |
| Poker Multiplier | 61 | 1 in 3.62 | 70.1% | $75K · 22 | 2.5% |
| LOTERIA™ Extra! | 60 | 1 in 3.51 | 71.4% | $100K · 11 | 2.5% |
| Full of 500's | 47 | 1 in 4.43 | 71.0% | $500 · 15,714 | 4.3% |
| JAWS | 45 | 1 in 3.81 | 70.8% | $500K · 9 | 1.0% |
| California Dreamin' | 40 | 1 in 3.75 | 70.8% | $556K · 5 | 0.0% |
| MEGA Crossword (this game) | 38 | 1 in 3.82 | 68.9% | $75K · 15 | 1.4% |
| LOTERIA™ Extra! (Game #1688) | 38 | 1 in 3.51 | 71.4% | $100K · 3 | 0.1% |
| Poker Nights | 33 | 1 in 3.62 | 70.1% | $75K · 3 | 0.5% |
| SuperLotto Plus® Multiplier | 32 | 1 in 3.81 | 63.0% | $500K · 5 | 1.5% |
Claimed per week: share of each game's printed prizes reported claimed per week over the last 4 weeks, from our daily records of the lottery's prize counts.