How many $2,000,000 prizes are left in Instant Prize Crossword?

9 of 27 as of September 9, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 1,309,022.

What are the odds of winning anything on Instant Prize Crossword?

1 in 3.12 today, compared with 1 in 3.31 printed at launch. Cash-only odds are 1 in 5.31, and the odds of winning more than the $20 ticket price are 1 in 5.35.

Is Instant Prize Crossword worth buying?

Its current payout is 77.5% ($15.50 back per $20 ticket), rank #13 of 54 in California. The best $20 alternative today is 100X (#1696, $20) at 80.7%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.

How many Instant Prize Crossword tickets are left?

We estimate 11,781,197 of roughly 35,515,200 printed tickets are unsold (60.6% sold), derived from the prizes claimed at each tier and their published odds.

When did Instant Prize Crossword launch and is it still on sale?

It launched on September 18, 2023. It is still on sale.

Instant Prize Crossword — $20 California Scratcher #1590

Data captured September 9, 2026 · launched September 18, 2023

Instant Prize Crossword California scratcher ticket

Official California Lottery page →

Instant Prize Crossword (#1590) is a $20 California scratcher launched on September 18, 2023. As of September 9, 2026 it ranks #13 of 54 active games on current payout (77.5%, $15.50 expected back per ticket) and #8 of 14 $20 games, #11 on any-prize odds (1 in 3.12) and #28 on top-prize odds (1 in 1,309,022). Since launch the payout has fallen 0.9 points (78.4% at launch) and the any-prize odds have improved 5.8% (1 in 3.31 at launch). 9 of 27 top prizes of $2,000,000 remain, and we estimate 11,781,197 tickets are still unsold (60.6% sold). That is a middle-of-the-pack game: fine to play, but the ranking lists show better value at the same price.

Current payout

77.5%

78.4% at launch

Expected value

$15.50

per $20 ticket

Any-prize odds

1 in 3.12

1 in 3.31 at launch

Cash odds

1 in 5.31

excludes free tickets

Profit odds

1 in 5.35

win more than $20

$600+ odds

1 in 1,049

claim-at-lottery prizes

Top prizes left

9 of 27

$2,000,000 each

Tickets remaining

39.4%

≈ 11,781,197 tickets

Prizes remaining

Every prize level in Instant Prize Crossword, with the odds printed at launch, the odds today given what is left, and how much of each tier is still unclaimed. Across all tiers, 3,781,287 of 10,734,091 prizes (35.2%) are still out there.

Prize	Odds at launch	Odds now	Total	Claimed	Remaining	% left
$2,000,000	1 in 1,233,167	1 in 1,309,022	27	18	9	33.3%
$25,000	1 in 605,373	1 in 589,060	55	35	20	36.4%
$10,000	1 in 594,562	1 in 561,009	56	35	21	37.5%
$5,000	1 in 118,912	1 in 120,216	280	182	98	35.0%
$2,000	1 in 3,952	1 in 3,892	8,426	5,399	3,027	35.9%
$1,000	1 in 1,478	1 in 1,462	22,525	14,467	8,058	35.8%
$500	1 in 564.0	1 in 566.8	59,047	38,263	20,784	35.2%
$250	1 in 395.0	1 in 394.2	84,272	54,385	29,887	35.5%
$200	1 in 183.0	1 in 184.8	181,913	118,176	63,737	35.0%
$100	1 in 40.0	1 in 40.9	829,444	541,746	287,698	34.7%
$50	1 in 21.0	1 in 21.7	1,550,454	1,008,371	542,083	35.0%
$25	1 in 9.00	1 in 9.44	3,558,192	2,310,191	1,248,001	35.1%
Ticketfree ticket	1 in 8.00	1 in 7.47	4,439,400	2,861,536	1,577,864	35.5%
All prizes	1 in 3.31	1 in 3.12	10,734,091	6,952,804	3,781,287	35.2%

How Instant Prize Crossword has moved

Current payout (solid) and any-prize odds (dashed, inverted so up is better) since we began tracking Instant Prize Crossword. 121 daily readings.

Recent claims of $1,000 and up

September 9, 2026: one $2,000 prize was claimed; 3,027 remain.
September 9, 2026: 5 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,058 remain.
September 26, 2025: one $1,000 prize was claimed; 8,551 remain.
September 25, 2025: one $2,000 prize was claimed; 3,208 remain.
September 25, 2025: one $1,000 prize was claimed; 8,552 remain.
September 24, 2025: 2 $2,000 prizes were claimed; 3,209 remain.
September 24, 2025: one $1,000 prize was claimed; 8,553 remain.
September 23, 2025: 2 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,554 remain.
September 20, 2025: 3 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,556 remain.
September 19, 2025: 2 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,559 remain.
September 17, 2025: one $1,000 prize was claimed; 8,561 remain.
September 16, 2025: 2 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,562 remain.

Derived from day-to-day changes in the official remaining-prize counts, so the date is when the lottery published the change.

Instant Prize Crossword: common questions

How many $2,000,000 prizes are left in Instant Prize Crossword?: 9 of 27 as of September 9, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 1,309,022.
What are the odds of winning anything on Instant Prize Crossword?: 1 in 3.12 today, compared with 1 in 3.31 printed at launch. Cash-only odds are 1 in 5.31, and the odds of winning more than the $20 ticket price are 1 in 5.35.
Is Instant Prize Crossword worth buying?: Its current payout is 77.5% ($15.50 back per $20 ticket), rank #13 of 54 in California. The best $20 alternative today is 100X (#1696, $20) at 80.7%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.
How many Instant Prize Crossword tickets are left?: We estimate 11,781,197 of roughly 35,515,200 printed tickets are unsold (60.6% sold), derived from the prizes claimed at each tier and their published odds.
When did Instant Prize Crossword launch and is it still on sale?: It launched on September 18, 2023. It is still on sale.

Other $20 California scratchers

100X — 80.7% payout, 1 in 3.17 any prize
Set for Life — 78.8% payout, 1 in 3.58 any prize
MONOPOLY — 78.6% payout, 1 in 3.48 any prize
Golden State Riches — 78.4% payout, 1 in 2.89 any prize
$5,000,000 Superstar — 78.4% payout, 1 in 3.26 any prize

California hub All $20 games Methodology