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Poor valueActiveMYSTERY CROSSWORD · $10 · New Mexico Lottery
MYSTERY CROSSWORD: Poor value. A $10 ticket pays back $4.09 on average.
▼ -9.6 pts vs launch#9 of 9 · $10 NM gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:04 AM
▼ -9.6 pts vs launch#9 of 9 · $10 NM gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:04 AM
MYSTERY CROSSWORD is a $10 scratch-off ticket from the New Mexico state lottery. Its current expected value is 40.9%, down 9.6 percentage points from the launch value of 50.5%. 55 of the original 100 $500 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 31% of the 0.4M printed tickets have been sold.
40.9%
expected return
1 in 2.92
odds of any win
55 of 100
$500 top prizes left
31%
claimed · 115k of 374k printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 74,472 winning tickets still unclaimed.
17 win more than $10
$15 – $100, an actual profit
12 win their money back
a $10 prize, so you break even
71 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 4,707 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $4.09 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $10 – $500
$4.09 · 40.9% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$10 – $500 wins
74,472 winning tickets remain in this range: 100% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
31% of the print run claimed
Counting every ticket since launch, Nov 2025.
374k
tickets printed
115k
tickets claimed · 31%
259k
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Sales are outpacing the jackpots: worse for buyers.
Jackpots left
55%
Tickets left
69%
55% of top prizes remain with 69% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
New Mexico Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $10 NM peers
#9 of 9
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from New Mexico Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 17, 2026, 6:04 AM.
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