$500,000 a Year for Life
Image Credit: Pennsylvania Lottery
46
VALUESCORE
Fair
$500,000 a Year for Life is a $20 scratch-off lottery ticket from the Pennsylvania Lottery. It has overall odds of 1 in 3.46, meaning roughly 1 in every 3 tickets wins a prize. The expected value is $0.56 per $1 spent, which is a below-average return compared to other scratch-offs. The top prize is $50,000. Most prizes are still available (67% remaining). ScratchCheck rates this ticket 46/100 (Fair) based on expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health.
Overall Odds
1 in 3.46
Exp. Value
$0.56
per $1 spent
Top Prize
$50,000
Top Prizes Left
6
Prizes Remaining
67%
ValueScore™
46 / 100
Fair
Should I Buy This Ticket?
Expected value per $1 spent:
$0.56→
AVERAGE
Middle-of-the-pack value for a ticket at this price point.
Why
- Expected value of $0.56 per $1 is below average. Less comes back per dollar than most games.
- Strong prize quality: a healthy share of the bigger top and mid-tier prizes are still unclaimed.
- Healthy inventory: a large share of this game's prizes are still unclaimed.
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Run a virtual scratch-off using this game's real odds.
Image Credit: Pennsylvania Lottery
$20.00 per ticket · 1 in 3.46 overall odds
✓ Accounts for prizes already claimed
Entertainment only. Outcomes are random and won't match a real session. Current-odds mode scales each tier by remaining prizes and tickets.
Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Odds | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 1 in 840,000 | 10 | 6 | 60% |
| $5,000 | 1 in 30,000 | 280 | 194 | 69% |
| $1,000 | 1 in 4,800 | 1,750 | 1,189 | 68% |
| $500 | 1 in 393 | 21,355 | 14,216 | 67% |
| $200 | 1 in 375 | 22,400 | 14,907 | 67% |
| $100 | 1 in 60 | 140,000 | Not reported | - |
| $50 | 1 in 30 | 280,000 | Not reported | - |
| $40 | 1 in 30 | 280,000 | Not reported | - |
| $30 | 1 in 30 | 280,000 | Not reported | - |
| $20 | 1 in 6 | 1,400,000 | Not reported | - |
“Not reported” = the lottery publishes remaining-prize counts for its top prizes only.
ValueScore™ Breakdown
46
VALUESCORE
Fair
46
out of 100
Expected Value
Prize Quality
Win Frequency
Inventory Health
Updated: 6/3/2026
Game Details
- State
- Pennsylvania
- Game Number
- 1763
- Ticket Price
- $20
- Start Date
- 12/27/2025
- Payout %
- 56.2%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 5/31/2026
Compare
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View on Pennsylvania Lottery ↗Frequently Asked Questions
Is the $500,000 a Year for Life scratch-off a good buy?
$500,000 a Year for Life is a middling ticket with a ValueScore of 46/100. It is roughly average compared to other scratch-offs in Pennsylvania. If you are looking for the best value at this price point, check the Pennsylvania rankings page for higher-rated alternatives.
How much does $500,000 a Year for Life cost?
$500,000 a Year for Life costs $20 per ticket in Pennsylvania. All ScratchCheck figures for this game — expected value, ValueScore, and top prize analysis — are calculated against this $20 ticket price.
What are the odds of winning the $500,000 a Year for Life scratch-off?
The overall odds of winning any prize with $500,000 a Year for Life are 1 in 3.46. This means roughly 1 in every 3 tickets wins a prize of any amount.
What is the top prize for $500,000 a Year for Life?
The top prize for $500,000 a Year for Life is $50,000. As of our latest update, 6 top prizes remain unclaimed.
What are the prizes for $500,000 a Year for Life?
$500,000 a Year for Life offers 10 distinct prize levels: $50,000 (10 total), $5,000 (280 total), $1,000 (1,750 total), $500 (21,355 total), $200 (22,400 total), $100 (140,000 total), $50 (280,000 total), $40 (280,000 total), $30 (280,000 total), and $20 (1,400,000 total). The full prize breakdown with odds and remaining counts is listed in the prize table on this page.
How many prizes are left in $500,000 a Year for Life?
Based on our latest data, 67% of all prize tickets remain (approximately 30,512 out of 45,795 total). Roughly half the prizes remain, which is typical for an active game.
How is $500,000 a Year for Life rated by ScratchCheck?
ScratchCheck rates $500,000 a Year for Life at 46 out of 100 using ValueScore™, a composite rating built from four factors: Expected Value, Prize Quality, Win Frequency, and Inventory Health. Scores of 80 or above are Excellent, 60 to 79 Good, 40 to 59 Fair, 20 to 39 Below Average, and below 20 is Poor. The score updates automatically as prizes are claimed and data refreshes.
When was $500,000 a Year for Life released?
$500,000 a Year for Life was released by the Pennsylvania Lottery on December 27, 2025. It has been on sale for about 5 months.
How often is $500,000 a Year for Life data updated on ScratchCheck?
$500,000 a Year for Life data is collected directly from official Pennsylvania Lottery publications by ScratchCheck's automated pipeline. Prize counts and odds typically refresh daily or whenever the lottery publishes new data.