Which scratch-offs are worth it in September 2026
Every morning we pull the official prize files from California, Texas, and New York, run the same math on every game, and call it straight — worth a look, or skip it.
Never play money you're not willing to lose. This is gambling, even when it's fun.
Worth a look in California
-
85¢ back per $1 beats every other $20 game.
- $5M top prize
- 85¢ back per $1
- 3 of 6 top prizes left
- 74% of tickets sold
-
Today's best of the $40 tier: 85¢ back per $1.
- $15M top prize
- 85¢ back per $1
- 1 of 7 top prizes left
- 90% of tickets sold
-
Fresh off the press: about 14% sold, so nearly every prize is still out there.
- $10M top prize
- 82¢ back per $1
- 5 of 5 top prizes left
- 14% of tickets sold
-
Today's best of the $30 tier: 83¢ back per $1.
- $10M top prize
- 83¢ back per $1
- 2 of 5 top prizes left
- 68% of tickets sold
-
Running lucky: 66,074 of 424,075 $200 prizes left at 85% sold, more than the sales pace predicts.
- prizes up to $200
- 77¢ back per $1
- 66,074 of 424,075 $200 prizes left
- 85% of tickets sold
- 1,056 $200 prizes claimed this week
Skip these
- 15X ($3): Big prizes are going faster than sales say they should: 2 left where ~5 would be normal. Take a pass.
Worth a look in Texas
-
Running lucky: 8 of 10 top prizes left at 47% sold, more than the sales pace predicts.
- $1M top prize
- 80¢ back per $1
- 8 of 10 top prizes left
- 47% of tickets sold
-
Today's best of the $50 tier: 81¢ back per $1.
- $5M top prize
- 81¢ back per $1
- 2 of 4 top prizes left
- 66% of tickets sold
-
Nothing flashy, nothing wrong: 69% sold and paying out on schedule.
- $3M top prize
- 80¢ back per $1
- 2 of 4 top prizes left
- 69% of tickets sold
-
Only 3% sold so far, and 4 of 4 top prizes left. Barely scratched.
- $10M top prize
- 80¢ back per $1
- 4 of 4 top prizes left
- 3% of tickets sold
-
80¢ back per $1 beats every other $100 game.
- $5M top prize
- 80¢ back per $1
- 3 of 4 top prizes left
- 33% of tickets sold
Skip these
- In the Green ($5): Big prizes are going faster than sales say they should: 1 left where ~2 would be normal. Take a pass.
- Break the Bank ($2): Every last one of its 10 top prizes is claimed — pass.
- Chameleon Cash ($5): All 5 top prizes are gone. Don't buy this one.
Worth a look in New York
-
$1.08 back per $1 beats every other $5 game.
- $1M top prize
- $1.08 back per $1
- 2 of 4 top prizes left
- 93% of tickets sold
- top prize paid out over years, not cash up front
- luck read withheld — data anomaly
-
Today's best of the $30 tier: 89¢ back per $1.
- $10M top prize
- 89¢ back per $1
- 1 of 5 top prizes left
- 93% of tickets sold
-
83¢ back per $1 beats every other $2 game.
- $1M top prize
- 83¢ back per $1
- 5 of 10 top prizes left
- 56% of tickets sold
- top prize paid out over years, not cash up front
-
94% sold, yet 1 of 3 top prizes left — the good kind of odd.
- $500K top prize
- 77¢ back per $1
- 1 of 3 top prizes left
- 94% of tickets sold
-
79¢ back per $1 beats every other $20 game.
- $5M top prize
- 79¢ back per $1
- 1 of 4 top prizes left
- 90% of tickets sold
Skip these
- WINNING STREAK 25X ($5): All 4 top prizes are gone. Don't buy this one.
- $10,000,000 DELUXE ($30): Every last one of its 5 top prizes is claimed — pass.
- CASHWORD DOUBLER ($2): All 30 top prizes are gone. Don't buy this one.
- WILD CASH MULTIPLIER ($5): Every last one of its 3 top prizes is claimed — pass.
- $10,000 A WEEK FOR LIFE ($20): All 3 top prizes are gone. Don't buy this one.
- XTREME WINNINGS ($5): Every last one of its 4 top prizes is claimed — pass.
Info only
The lottery doesn't publish enough about these for us to estimate anything, so they're listed here without made-up numbers.
- SET FOR LIFE ($0): top prize of $5.2M · official game page
- $1,000,000 BONUS CASHWORD ($0): top prize of $1M · official game page
- $10,000 A WEEK FOR LIFE ($0): top prize of $10.4M · official game page