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Decent valueActiveMystery Crossword · $10 · California Lottery
Mystery Crossword: Decent value. A $10 ticket pays back $7.87 on average.
▲ +1.8 pts vs launch#1 of 8 · $10 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:06 AM
▲ +1.8 pts vs launch#1 of 8 · $10 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:06 AM
Mystery Crossword is a $10 scratch-off ticket from the California state lottery. Its current expected value is 78.7%, up 1.8 percentage points from the launch value of 76.9%. 20 of the original 45 $750,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 68% of the 54.2M printed tickets have been sold.
78.7%
expected return
1 in 3.47
odds of any win
20 of 45
$750K top prizes left
68%
claimed · 37.1M of 54.2M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 5,048,460 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 6,196 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $7.87 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $10 – $400
$6.82 · 68.2% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $750K
$1.05 · 10.5% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$10 – $400 wins
5,045,696 winning tickets remain in this range: 87% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
68% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Dec 2025.
54.2M
tickets printed
37.1M
tickets claimed · 68%
17.1M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
44%
Tickets left
32%
44% of top prizes remain with only 32% 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
#1 of 8
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from California Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 18, 2026, 12:06 AM.
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