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The Compare Tool

Compare New Mexico Scratch-Offs

Zoltar® Crossword vs The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword

Put any two active New Mexico scratch-offs side by side. We score each on ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, big-win odds, break-even chance, and top-prize health, then call a winner so you can tell which ticket your dollar goes further on.

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OUR PICK
Leads 6 metrics
Go with Zoltar® Crossword.

Zoltar® Crossword leads on a higher ValueScore (93 vs 44), a better expected value, and a higher payout rate (4.6 pts).

Price
ticket cost
SAME PRICE
Zoltar® Crossword
$15
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
$15
ValueScore
composite quality index, higher is better
Zoltar® Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
93
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
44
Expected value
average return per $1 played
Zoltar® Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
$0.64
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
$0.59
Payout rate
share of sales returned to players
Zoltar® Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
63.5%
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
58.9%
Overall odds
chance of winning any prize, lower is better
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
1 in 2.98
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
1 in 2.97
Odds of a $1,000+ win
best single-tier odds at $1,000 or more
Zoltar® Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
1 in 31,280
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
1 in 37,850
Break-even on $100
chance to win back $100 or more spending $100
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
-
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
14%
Top prize
advertised jackpot
Zoltar® Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
$25K
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
$15K
Top prizes left
top prizes still unclaimed
Zoltar® Crossword WINS
Zoltar® Crossword
4
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
1
Final score
Image credit: New Mexico Lottery
Winner
Zoltar® Crossword
6
metric wins
Image credit: New Mexico Lottery
The Return of the Pink Panther™ Crossword
2
metric wins
Zoltar® Crossword wins the comparison, leading 6 metrics.
How it works

Three steps to a smarter pick.

  1. STEP 1
    Pick Game A
    Choose any active New Mexico scratch-off from the first dropdown. Filter by price if you want to compare tickets at the same tier.
  2. STEP 2
    Pick Game B
    Choose a second game from the other dropdown. Both games appear as ticket thumbnails once selected.
  3. STEP 3
    Read the verdict
    We compare eight metrics including ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, big-win odds, and break-even chance. The OUR PICK banner names the winner and explains why.
FAQ

Common questions.

What is ValueScore?

ValueScore is a composite index from 0 to 100 that blends expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health. Higher is better. It lets you rank games across price tiers without manually weighing four separate metrics.

Why are lower overall odds better?

Overall odds of 1 in X describe how many tickets you would need to buy on average to hit any prize. Lower X means more frequent wins, though most wins at that frequency are small. Pair overall odds with expected value to see if those wins are actually worthwhile.

How is expected value calculated?

Expected value is the average return per dollar played. We sum the value of every remaining prize tier, weighted by its probability, then divide by the ticket price. A $1 ticket returning $0.70 on average has an EV of $0.70.

How does the verdict pick a winner?

The OUR PICK verdict tallies eight metrics: ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, odds of winning $1,000 or more, break-even chance on $100, top prize, and top prizes still unclaimed. It flags the game that wins the most, and metrics where the games are even count for neither side. When the win totals tie, the higher ValueScore breaks it, since ValueScore is the composite that already blends those factors and is how the rest of the site ranks games. On a dead heat across everything we show a toss-up instead of forcing a pick.

How often is this data updated?

Scratch off data refreshes daily from the New Mexico lottery. Remaining top prizes can shift during the day as prizes are claimed, but price, overall odds, and payout rate only change when the lottery updates its public pack data.