The Illinois Lottery sells $250,000 Crossword 2026 as a $10 ticket. On average it pays back about $0.75 per $1, $0.03 less than the median $10 game in Illinois. Prizes of $10,000 and up were printed on roughly 1 in 281,979 tickets.
Should I Buy This Ticket?
- The bigger prize tiers here have plenty left to win.
- Winning tickets come up at a 27% clip (1 in 3.69), above the norm.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate · Updated October 13Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Odds | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | 1 in 958,659 | 20 | 15 | 75% |
| $25,000 | 1 in 399,441 | 48 | 36 | 75% |
| $1,000 | 1 in 11,413 | 1,680 | 1,288 | 77% |
| $500 | 1 in 2,352 | 8,153 | 5,827 | 71% |
| $200 | 1 in 1,989 | 9,639 | 6,912 | 72% |
| $150 | 1 in 1,329 | 14,422 | 10,310 | 71% |
| $100 | 1 in 80 | 239,641 | 171,778 | 72% |
| $60 | 1 in 799 | 23,987 | 17,141 | 71% |
| $50 | 1 in 37 | 512,671 | 367,768 | 72% |
| $40 | 1 in 160 | 119,813 | 85,765 | 72% |
| $30 | 1 in 55 | 351,707 | 251,465 | 71% |
| $20 | 1 in 9 | 2,156,928 | 1,545,833 | 72% |
| $10 | 1 in 11 | 1,757,651 | 1,266,943 | 72% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Ticket Statistics
Prize History
Top prizes left
Since its launch on July 5, 5 $250,000 top prizes have been reported claimed, leaving 15. The most recent was on August 22.
- August 22, 20261 claimed · 15 left
- August 16, 20261 claimed · 16 left
- August 13, 20261 claimed · 17 left
- August 1, 20261 claimed · 18 left
- July 26, 20261 claimed · 19 left
How fast it's selling
Over the last 4 weeks, about 1.9% of this game's prizes were reported claimed each week, close to the average for Illinois's $10 games (1.6% 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
- Illinois
- Game Number
- 7664
- Ticket Price
- $10
- Start Date
- 7/7/2026
- Payout %
- 74.7%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 10/13/2026
Compare
Compare this game with another →Official Source
View on Illinois 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 Illinois
All 12 ranked →| Game | ValueScore | Odds | Payout | Top prize · left | Claimed per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire 10s | 75 | 1 in 3.49 | 77.9% | $1M · 2 | 2.1% |
| Treemendous Cash | 74 | 1 in 3.62 | 75.1% | $500K · 3 | 3.5% |
| Liquid Assets | 70 | 1 in 3.85 | 77.8% | $1M · 2 | 3.5% |
| $250,000 Crossword 2026 (this game) | 68 | 1 in 3.69 | 74.7% | $250K · 15 | 1.9% |
| Millionaire 7 | 61 | 1 in 3.59 | 78.1% | $1M · 1 | 1.5% |
| Money Match | 59 | 1 in 3.65 | 78.0% | $1M · 1 | 1.0% |
| Gold Casino | 58 | 1 in 3.63 | 82.1% | $50K · 0 | - |
| Diamonds | 56 | 1 in 3.63 | 79.9% | $2M · 1 | 1.4% |
| 50X Xtra | 52 | 1 in 3.64 | 75.0% | $600K · 2 | 1.0% |
| Gold Rush Supreme | 43 | 1 in 3.81 | 74.9% | $100K · 5 | 0.7% |
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.