Simply A Buck
Image Credit: Pennsylvania Lottery
8
VALUESCORE
Poor
Simply A Buck is a $1 scratch-off lottery ticket from the Pennsylvania Lottery. It has overall odds of 1 in 4.66, meaning roughly 1 in every 5 tickets wins a prize. The expected value is $0.65 per $1 spent, which is an average return compared to other scratch-offs. The top prize is $1,000. Most prizes have already been claimed (9% remaining). ScratchCheck rates this ticket 8/100 (Poor) based on expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health.
Overall Odds
1 in 4.66
Exp. Value
$0.65
per $1 spent
Top Prize
$1,000
Top Prizes Left
10
Prizes Remaining
9%
ValueScore™
8 / 100
Poor
Should I Buy This Ticket?
Expected value per $1 spent:
$0.65↓
BELOW AVERAGE
Weaker overall value — there are likely better options at this price.
Why
- Wins are infrequent: about a 21% chance to win something per ticket (1 in 4.66), lower than most games.
- Expected value of $0.65 per $1 is about average, a typical return for a ticket at this price.
- Weak prize quality: relatively few of the bigger top and mid-tier prizes are still unclaimed.
Simulate This Game
Run a virtual scratch-off using this game's real odds.
Image Credit: Pennsylvania Lottery
$1.00 per ticket · 1 in 4.66 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | 1 in 84,000 | 100 | 10 | 10% |
| $500 | 1 in 84,000 | 100 | 5 | 5% |
| $100 | 1 in 15,000 | 560 | 37 | 7% |
| $50 | 1 in 600 | 14,000 | 1,004 | 7% |
| $20 | 1 in 360 | 23,310 | 1,932 | 8% |
| $10 | 1 in 91 | 92,400 | 8,985 | 10% |
| $5 | 1 in 34 | 243,600 | Not reported | - |
| $2 | 1 in 15 | 546,000 | Not reported | - |
| $1 | 1 in 10 | 882,000 | Not reported | - |
“Not reported” = the lottery publishes remaining-prize counts for its top prizes only.
ValueScore™ Breakdown
8
VALUESCORE
Poor
8
out of 100
Expected Value
Prize Quality
Win Frequency
Inventory Health
Updated: 6/15/2026
Game Details
- State
- Pennsylvania
- Game Number
- 1749
- Ticket Price
- $1
- Start Date
- 8/9/2025
- Payout %
- 65.3%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 6/14/2026
Compare
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View on Pennsylvania Lottery ↗Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Simply A Buck scratch-off a good buy?
Simply A Buck has a ValueScore of 8/100, which is among the lowest-rated tickets in Pennsylvania. The combination of poor expected value, limited prizes, or heavily depleted inventory makes it a poor choice compared to alternatives. Check other games before buying.
How much does Simply A Buck cost?
Simply A Buck costs $1 per ticket in Pennsylvania. All ScratchCheck figures for this game — expected value, ValueScore, and top prize analysis — are calculated against this $1 ticket price.
What are the odds of winning the Simply A Buck scratch-off?
The overall odds of winning any prize with Simply A Buck are 1 in 4.66. This means roughly 1 in every 5 tickets wins a prize of any amount.
What is the top prize for Simply A Buck?
The top prize for Simply A Buck is $1,000. As of our latest update, 10 top prizes remain unclaimed.
What are the prizes for Simply A Buck?
Simply A Buck offers 9 distinct prize levels: $1,000 (100 total), $500 (100 total), $100 (560 total), $50 (14,000 total), $20 (23,310 total), $10 (92,400 total), $5 (243,600 total), $2 (546,000 total), and $1 (882,000 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 Simply A Buck?
Based on our latest data, 9% of all prize tickets remain (approximately 11,973 out of 130,470 total). The vast majority of prizes have been claimed. This game is close to being retired.
How is Simply A Buck rated by ScratchCheck?
ScratchCheck rates Simply A Buck at 8 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 Simply A Buck released?
Simply A Buck was released by the Pennsylvania Lottery on August 9, 2025. It has been on sale for roughly 10 months, so a meaningful portion of prizes has likely been claimed.
How often is Simply A Buck data updated on ScratchCheck?
Simply A Buck 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.