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Poor valueActiveWHOLE LOTTA $500S · $5 · Wisconsin Lottery
WHOLE LOTTA $500S: Poor value. A $5 ticket pays back $2.14 on average.
▼ -21.2 pts vs launch#14 of 16 · $5 WI gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:11 AM
▼ -21.2 pts vs launch#14 of 16 · $5 WI gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:11 AM
WHOLE LOTTA $500S is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the Wisconsin state lottery. Its current expected value is 42.8%, down 21.2 percentage points from the launch value of 64.0%. 132 of the original 2,770 $500 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 1% of the 1.2M printed tickets have been sold.
42.8%
expected return
1 in 4.00
odds of any win
132 of 2,770
$500 top prizes left
1%
claimed · 11k of 1.2M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 300,472 winning tickets still unclaimed.
8 win more than $5
$10 – $100, an actual profit
17 win their money back
a $5 prize, so you break even
75 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 9,213 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $2.14 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$2.14 · 42.8% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$5 – $500 wins
300,472 winning tickets remain in this range: 100% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
1% of the print run claimed
Counting every ticket since launch, Mar 2026.
1.2M
tickets printed
11k
tickets claimed · 1%
1.2M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Sales are outpacing the jackpots: worse for buyers.
Jackpots left
5%
Tickets left
99%
5% of top prizes remain with 99% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
Wisconsin Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $5 WI peers
#14 of 16
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from Wisconsin Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 17, 2026, 6:11 AM.
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