Black Pearls
Image Credit: Washington DC Lottery
58
VALUESCORE
Fair
Black Pearls is a $5 scratch-off lottery ticket from the Washington DC Lottery. The published overall odds are 1 in 4.17. Averaged across the remaining prize pool, each $1 buys about $0.71 in expected winnings, an average result. The top prize is $50,000. Most prizes are still available (67% remaining). It scores 58/100 (Fair) on ScratchCheck's ValueScore. That makes it #12 of the 20 active games we track in Washington DC, and 5th out of 7 $5 tickets in Washington DC.
Overall Odds
1 in 4.17
Exp. Value
$0.71
per $1 spent
Top Prize
$50,000
Top Prizes Left
1
Prizes Remaining
67%
ValueScore™
58 / 100
Fair
Should I Buy This Ticket?
Expected value per $1 spent:
$0.71→
AVERAGE
Middle of the pack: #12 of the 20 active games we track in Washington DC.
Why
→Wins are infrequent: about a 24% chance to win something per ticket (1 in 4.17), lower than most games.
- A reasonable chunk of the top and mid-tier prizes are still available, though not the majority.
- Expected value lands near the pack at $0.71 per $1 spent.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate$50,000
1 of 2 left
launch odds 1 in 122K
now ~1 in 164K
$5,000
3 of 3 left
launch odds 1 in 82K
now ~1 in 55K
$1,000
7 of 8 left
launch odds 1 in 31K
now ~1 in 23K
ScratchCheck estimate. Current odds are derived from the prizes still unclaimed and our estimate of tickets remaining, shown next to the lottery’s printed launch odds. Actual odds vary as tickets are sold and prizes claimed.
Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| $1,000 | 8 | 7 | 88% |
| $500 | 33 | 20 | 61% |
| $200 | 39 | 30 | 77% |
| $100 | 617 | 401 | 65% |
| $50 | 2,028 | 1,333 | 66% |
| $25 | 2,722 | 1,796 | 66% |
| $20 | 7,357 | 4,937 | 67% |
| $10 | 21,440 | 14,409 | 67% |
| $5 | 24,440 | 16,501 | 68% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Total Payout at Launch
$862,190
Current Prize Pool
$564,985
Payout Percentage
65.5%
Total Prizes Remaining
39,438
Ticket Statistics
Total Tickets Printed
244,733
Estimated Remaining
164,456
% Remaining
67.2%
Prize pool figures use advertised prize values. Tickets printed is estimated from overall odds. Tickets remaining is estimated from the share of prizes still unclaimed.
ValueScore™ Breakdown
58
VALUESCORE
Fair
58
out of 100
Expected Value
25/40
Prize Quality
14/25
Win Frequency
6/20
Inventory Health
12/15
Updated: 9/4/2026
Game Details
- State
- Washington DC
- Game Number
- 1656
- Ticket Price
- $5
- Start Date
- 4/1/2026
- Payout %
- 70.5%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 9/4/2026
Compare
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Image Credit: Washington DC Lottery
$5.00 per ticket · 1 in 4.17 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Black Pearls scratch-off a good buy?
Black Pearls is a middling ticket with a ValueScore of 58/100. It is roughly average compared to other scratch-offs in Washington DC. If you are looking for the best value at this price point, check the Washington DC rankings page for higher-rated alternatives.
How much does Black Pearls cost?
Black Pearls costs $5 per ticket in Washington DC. All ScratchCheck figures for this game (expected value, ValueScore, and top prize analysis) are calculated against this $5 ticket price.
What are the odds of winning the Black Pearls scratch-off?
The overall odds of winning any prize with Black Pearls are 1 in 4.17. This means roughly 1 in every 4 tickets wins a prize of any amount.
What is the top prize for Black Pearls?
The top prize for Black Pearls is $50,000. As of our latest update, 1 top prize remains unclaimed.
What are the prizes for Black Pearls?
Black Pearls offers 11 distinct prize levels: $50,000 (2 total), $5,000 (3 total), $1,000 (8 total), $500 (33 total), $200 (39 total), $100 (617 total), $50 (2,028 total), $25 (2,722 total), $20 (7,357 total), $10 (21,440 total), and $5 (24,440 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 Black Pearls?
Based on our latest data, 67% of all prize tickets remain (approximately 39,438 out of 58,689 total). Roughly half the prizes remain, which is typical for an active game.
How is Black Pearls rated by ScratchCheck?
ScratchCheck rates Black Pearls at 58 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 Black Pearls released?
Black Pearls was released by the Washington DC Lottery on April 1, 2026. It has been on sale for about 5 months.
How often is Black Pearls data updated on ScratchCheck?
Black Pearls data comes directly from the official Washington DC Lottery and is refreshed daily, so the odds and remaining prize counts you see match the lottery's latest published figures.