LOOSE CHANGE — $1 New York Scratch-Off #1618
LOOSE CHANGE (#1618) is a $1 New York scratch-off launched on July 23, 2024. As of October 25, 2026 it ranks #21 of 109 active games on current payout (73.8%, $0.74 expected back per ticket) and #3 of 15 $1 games, #9 on any-prize odds (1 in 2.88) and #15 on top-prize odds (1 in 69,595). Since launch the payout has risen 9.5 points (64.2% at launch) and your chance of winning something has risen 63.5% (1 in 4.70 at launch). 54 of 3205 top prizes of $500 remain, and we estimate 3,758,139 tickets are still unsold (97.6% 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 York scratch-offs to buy. A caution on the current figures: the any-prize odds have moved from 1 in 4.70 to 1 in 2.88, further than a game's odds really move. Its prize tiers disagree about how many tickets are left (between 2.35 million and 7.30 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 LOOSE CHANGE, 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 York game, see odds by prize size. Across all tiers, 1,306,388 of 32,857,597 prizes (4.0%) are still out there.
| Prize | Odds at launch | Odds now | Total | Claimed | Remaining | % left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | 1 in 47,983 | 1 in 69,595 | 3,205 | 3,151 | 54 | 1.7% |
| $100 | 1 in 3,429 | 1 in 5,494 | 45,036 | 44,352 | 684 | 1.5% |
| $40 | 1 in 730.2 | 1 in 1,140 | 211,653 | 208,357 | 3,296 | 1.6% |
| $25 | 1 in 250.0 | 1 in 356.0 | 617,972 | 607,416 | 10,556 | 1.7% |
| $10 | 1 in 125.0 | 1 in 146.9 | 1,235,944 | 1,210,369 | 25,575 | 2.1% |
| $5 | 1 in 34.5 | 1 in 32.6 | 4,480,400 | 4,364,950 | 115,450 | 2.6% |
| $2 | 1 in 18.9 | 1 in 12.6 | 8,188,037 | 7,890,906 | 297,131 | 3.6% |
| $1 | 1 in 8.55 | 1 in 4.40 | 18,075,350 | 17,221,708 | 853,642 | 4.7% |
| All prizes | 1 in 4.70 | 1 in 2.88 | 32,857,597 | 31,551,209 | 1,306,388 | 4.0% |
How LOOSE CHANGE has moved
LOOSE CHANGE: common questions
- How many $500 prizes are left in LOOSE CHANGE?
- 54 of 3205 as of October 25, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 69,595.
- What are the odds of winning anything on LOOSE CHANGE?
- 1 in 2.88 as of October 25, 2026, compared with 1 in 4.70 printed at launch. Cash-only odds are 1 in 2.88, and the odds of winning more than the $1 ticket price are 1 in 8.30.
- Is LOOSE CHANGE worth buying?
- Its current payout is 73.8% ($0.74 back per $1 ticket), rank #21 of 109 in New York. That figure fails our plausibility check (see the caution above), so read it as approximate and not as a reason to buy. The best $1 alternative as of October 25, 2026 is INSTANT TAKE 5 (#1680, $1) at 95.8%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.
- How many LOOSE CHANGE tickets are left?
- We estimate 3,758,139 of roughly 154,544,243 printed tickets are unsold (97.6% sold), derived from the prizes claimed at each tier and their published odds.
- When did LOOSE CHANGE launch and is it still on sale?
- It launched on July 23, 2024. It is still on sale.
Other $1 New York scratch-offs
- INSTANT TAKE 5 — 95.8% payout, 1 in 1.78 any prize
- BONUS 5X — 74.1% payout, 1 in 3.45 any prize
- 10Xtra — 73.6% payout, 1 in 3.69 any prize
- LOOSE CHANGE — 72.8% payout, 1 in 2.86 any prize
- 3-2-WON! — 68.1% payout, 1 in 3.85 any prize