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Decent valueActiveMystery Crossword · $10 · California Lottery
Mystery Crossword: Decent value. A $10 ticket pays back $7.62 on average.
▼ -0.7 pts vs launch#2 of 10 · $10 CA gamesUpdated Aug 2, 2026, 12:06 AM
▼ -0.7 pts vs launch#2 of 10 · $10 CA gamesUpdated Aug 2, 2026, 12:06 AM
Mystery Crossword is a $10 scratch-off ticket from the California state lottery. Its current expected value is 76.2%, down 0.7 percentage points from the launch value of 76.9%. 11 of the original 48 $750,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 80% of the 57.8M printed tickets have been sold.
76.2%
expected return
1 in 3.47
odds of any win
11 of 48
$750K top prizes left
80%
claimed · 46.2M of 57.8M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 3,450,473 winning tickets still unclaimed.
13 win more than $10
$20 – $400, an actual profit
17 win their money back
a $10 prize, so you break even
70 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 6,234 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $7.62 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $10 – $400
$6.74 · 67.4% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $750K
$0.88 · 8.8% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$10 – $400 wins
3,448,607 winning tickets remain in this range: 89% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
80% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Dec 2025.
57.8M
tickets printed
46.2M
tickets claimed · 80%
11.6M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
23%
Tickets left
20%
23% of top prizes remain with only 20% 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
#2 of 10
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from California Lottery published claim data, updated Aug 2, 2026, 12:06 AM.
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