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Weak valueActiveMystery Crossword · $10 · California Lottery
Mystery Crossword: Weak value. A $10 ticket pays back $6.24 on average.
▼ -14.5 pts vs launch#8 of 8 · $10 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:05 AM
▼ -14.5 pts vs launch#8 of 8 · $10 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:05 AM
Mystery Crossword is a $10 scratch-off ticket from the California state lottery. Its current expected value is 62.4%, down 14.5 percentage points from the launch value of 76.9%. 1 of the original 60 $750,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 97% of the 73.3M printed tickets have been sold.
62.4%
expected return
1 in 3.47
odds of any win
1 of 60
$750K top prizes left
97%
claimed · 71.4M of 73.3M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 701,962 winning tickets still unclaimed.
13 win more than $10
$20 – $400, an actual profit
25 win their money back
a $10 prize, so you break even
62 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 6,316 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $6.24 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $10 – $400
$5.79 · 57.9% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $750K
$0.45 · 4.5% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$10 – $400 wins
701,667 winning tickets remain in this range: 93% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
97% of the print run claimed
Counting every ticket since launch, Jan 2025.
73.3M
tickets printed
71.4M
tickets claimed · 97%
1.9M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Sales are outpacing the jackpots: worse for buyers.
Jackpots left
2%
Tickets left
3%
2% of top prizes remain with 3% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
California Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $10 CA peers
#8 of 8
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from California Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 18, 2026, 12:05 AM.
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