Mystery Crossword (Game #1708)California Scratch-Off Odds & Prizes Remaining
Mystery Crossword (Game #1708) costs $10 a ticket from the California Lottery. By our estimate the $750,000 prize is easier to hit now than at launch: about 1 in 799,692 per ticket, down from 1 in 1,212,102. Its expected return of $0.78 per $1 runs $0.04 ahead of the typical $10 ticket in California. 55% of its winning tickets pay $10 or less, no more than the ticket cost. Its prize pool is nearly spent: 7% of prizes remain.
Should I Buy This Ticket?
- Top-prize odds have improved: 1 in 1.2M at launch, about 1 in 800K now. Tickets have sold faster than the $750,000 prizes have been claimed.
- Frequent winners: roughly a 29% shot at a prize on each ticket (1 in 3.47), ahead of most games.
- $0.78 back per dollar puts this game's return ahead of the pack.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate · Updated October 19Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Odds | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $750,000 | 1 in 1,211,000 | 48 | 5 | 10% |
| $10,000 | 1 in 587,152 | 99 | 10 | 10% |
| $4,000 | 1 in 377,455 | 154 | 14 | 9% |
| $2,000 | 1 in 406,490 | 143 | 10 | 7% |
| $1,000 | 1 in 7,936 | 7,325 | 600 | 8% |
| $400 | 1 in 4,756 | 12,222 | 782 | 6% |
| $200 | 1 in 531 | 109,433 | 6,700 | 6% |
| $100 | 1 in 50 | 1,173,906 | 66,672 | 6% |
| $60 | 1 in 100 | 583,475 | 35,221 | 6% |
| $40 | 1 in 63 | 929,298 | 55,811 | 6% |
| $20 | 1 in 12 | 4,650,240 | 283,966 | 6% |
| $10 Free ticket | 1 in 6 | 9,300,480 | 702,503 | 8% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Ticket Statistics
Prize History
Top prizes left
Since March 6, when our records for it began, 31 $750,000 top prizes have been reported claimed, leaving 5. The most recent was on September 19.
- September 19, 20261 claimed · 5 left
- September 13, 20261 claimed · 6 left
- August 22, 20262 claimed · 7 left
- August 19, 20261 claimed · 9 left
- August 13, 20261 claimed · 10 left
- July 26, 20261 claimed · 11 left
How fast it's selling
Over the last 4 weeks, about 0.5% of this game's prizes were reported claimed each week, well below the average for California's $10 games (1.9% 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
- 1708
- Ticket Price
- $10
- Start Date
- 12/15/2025
- Payout %
- 78.1%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 10/19/2026
Compare
Compare this game with another →Official Source
View on California Lottery ↗Simulate This Game
Run a virtual scratch-off using this game's real odds.
Entertainment only. Outcomes are random and won't match a real session. Current-odds mode scales each tier by remaining prizes and tickets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Every $10 ticket in California
| Game | ValueScore | Odds | Payout | Top prize · left | Claimed per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery Crossword | 79 | 1 in 3.47 | 78.5% | $750K · 21 | 4.0% |
| Set For Life | 78 | 1 in 3.76 | 78.4% | $6M · 5 | 4.6% |
| Polar Payout | 71 | 1 in 3.61 | 74.0% | $1M · 4 | - |
| $1,000,000 Poker | 61 | 1 in 3.50 | 74.7% | $1M · 9 | 1.1% |
| Neon Jackpot | 57 | 1 in 3.42 | 74.2% | $1M · 5 | 2.0% |
| California Jackpot | 54 | 1 in 3.42 | 74.0% | $1M · 3 | 0.1% |
| California Color Pop | 46 | 1 in 3.50 | 74.5% | $1M · 1 | 0.7% |
| $1,000,000 Money Mania | 45 | 1 in 3.42 | 74.3% | $1M · 2 | 0.7% |
| Mystery Crossword (Game #1708) (this game) | 45 | 1 in 3.47 | 78.1% | $750K · 5 | 0.5% |
| $50 or $100 | 27 | 1 in 8.13 | - | $100 · 134,561 | - |
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.