Crossword — $3 New Jersey Scratch-Off #01953
Crossword (#01953) is a $3 New Jersey scratch-off launched on December 10, 2025. As of October 25, 2026 it ranks #51 of 57 active games on current payout (64.1%, $1.92 expected back per ticket) and #3 of 3 $3 games, #16 on any-prize odds (1 in 3.84) and #23 on top-prize odds (1 in 1,014,413). Since launch the payout has fallen 0.9 points (65.0% at launch) and your chance of winning something has risen 27.5% (1 in 4.89 at launch). 1 of 20 top prizes of $20,000 remain, and we estimate 1,014,413 tickets are still unsold (92.7% sold). Its current figures fail our plausibility check (the caution below), so whatever its place in the list, we do not count it among the best New Jersey scratch-offs to buy. A caution on the current figures: the any-prize odds have moved from 1 in 4.89 to 1 in 3.84, further than a game's odds really move. Its prize tiers disagree about how many tickets are left (between 0.82 million and 1.90 million), usually because small prizes are claimed late, and the current odds and payout lean on that disagreement. The printed odds are the safer guide, and our summaries do not name this game the best of anything (how we estimate).
Prizes remaining
Every prize level in Crossword, with the odds printed at launch, the odds today given what is left, and how much of each tier is still unclaimed. To set its odds of $1,000 or more (or any other prize size) against every other New Jersey game, see odds by prize size. Across all tiers, 264,222 of 2,858,730 prizes (9.2%) are still out there.
| Prize | Odds at launch | Odds now | Total | Claimed | Remaining | % left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | 1 in 699,540 | 1 in 1,014,413 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 5.0% |
| $5,000 | 1 in 635,945 | 1 in 1,014,413 | 22 | 21 | 1 | 4.5% |
| $500 | 1 in 304,148 | 1 in 253,603 | 46 | 42 | 4 | 8.7% |
| $100 | 1 in 430.9 | 1 in 531.4 | 32,466 | 30,557 | 1,909 | 5.9% |
| $25 | 1 in 33.3 | 1 in 40.7 | 419,734 | 394,838 | 24,896 | 5.9% |
| $10 | 1 in 23.8 | 1 in 26.7 | 587,648 | 549,619 | 38,029 | 6.5% |
| $5 | 1 in 16.7 | 1 in 15.4 | 839,166 | 773,155 | 66,011 | 7.9% |
| FREE $3 TICKETfree ticket | 1 in 14.3 | 1 in 7.61 | 979,628 | 846,257 | 133,371 | 13.6% |
| All prizes | 1 in 4.89 | 1 in 3.84 | 2,858,730 | 2,594,508 | 264,222 | 9.2% |
How Crossword has moved
Crossword: common questions
- How many $20,000 prizes are left in Crossword?
- 1 of 20 as of October 25, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 1,014,413.
- What are the odds of winning anything on Crossword?
- 1 in 3.84 as of October 25, 2026, compared with 1 in 4.89 printed at launch. Cash-only odds are 1 in 6.78, and the odds of winning more than the $3 ticket price are 1 in 7.75.
- Is Crossword worth buying?
- Its current payout is 64.1% ($1.92 back per $3 ticket), rank #51 of 57 in New Jersey. That figure fails our plausibility check (see the caution above), so read it as approximate and not as a reason to buy. The best $3 alternative as of October 25, 2026 is LOTERIA (#01982, $3) at 68.0%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.
- How many Crossword tickets are left?
- We estimate 1,014,413 of roughly 13,990,800 printed tickets are unsold (92.7% sold), derived from the prizes claimed at each tier and their published odds.
- When did Crossword launch and is it still on sale?
- It launched on December 10, 2025. It is still on sale.