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

9 of 27 as of September 12, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 1,308,363.

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 5.32, 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% ($15.49 back per $20 ticket), rank #13 of 54 in California. The best $20 alternative today is 100X (#1696, $20) at 80.8%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.

How many Instant Prize Crossword tickets are left?

We estimate 11,775,271 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 12, 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 12, 2026 it ranks #13 of 54 active games on current payout (77.5%, $15.49 expected back per ticket) and #8 of 14 $20 games, #12 on any-prize odds (1 in 3.12) and #27 on top-prize odds (1 in 1,308,363). 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 11,775,271 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

$15.49

per $20 ticket

Any-prize odds

1 in 3.12

1 in 3.31 at launch

Cash odds

1 in 5.32

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%

≈ 11,775,271 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, 3,779,325 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 1,308,363	27	18	9	33.3%
$25,000	1 in 605,373	1 in 588,764	55	35	20	36.4%
$10,000	1 in 594,562	1 in 560,727	56	35	21	37.5%
$5,000	1 in 118,912	1 in 120,156	280	182	98	35.0%
$2,000	1 in 3,952	1 in 3,897	8,426	5,404	3,022	35.9%
$1,000	1 in 1,478	1 in 1,462	22,525	14,472	8,053	35.8%
$500	1 in 564.0	1 in 567.1	59,047	38,284	20,763	35.2%
$250	1 in 395.0	1 in 394.2	84,272	54,404	29,868	35.4%
$200	1 in 183.0	1 in 184.9	181,913	118,215	63,698	35.0%
$100	1 in 40.0	1 in 40.9	829,444	541,878	287,566	34.7%
$50	1 in 21.0	1 in 21.7	1,550,454	1,008,642	541,812	34.9%
$25	1 in 9.00	1 in 9.44	3,558,192	2,310,863	1,247,329	35.1%
Ticketfree ticket	1 in 8.00	1 in 7.47	4,439,400	2,862,334	1,577,066	35.5%
All prizes	1 in 3.31	1 in 3.12	10,734,091	6,954,766	3,779,325	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 12, 2026: 2 $2,000 prizes were claimed; 3,022 remain.
September 11, 2026: 2 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,053 remain.
September 10, 2026: 3 $2,000 prizes were claimed; 3,024 remain.
September 10, 2026: 3 $1,000 prizes were claimed; 8,055 remain.
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.

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 12, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 1,308,363.
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 5.32, 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% ($15.49 back per $20 ticket), rank #13 of 54 in California. The best $20 alternative today is 100X (#1696, $20) at 80.8%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.
How many Instant Prize Crossword tickets are left?: We estimate 11,775,271 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 — 80.8% payout, 1 in 3.17 any prize
Set for Life — 78.8% payout, 1 in 3.59 any prize
MONOPOLY — 78.6% payout, 1 in 3.48 any prize
Golden State Riches — 78.5% payout, 1 in 2.89 any prize
100X The Cash — 78.5% payout, 1 in 3.36 any prize

California hub All $20 games Methodology