How to Read Lottery Prize Tier Data

Most scratch off and many Fast Play game pages show a prize tier table— a breakdown of every prize amount the game offers, from the top prize down to the smallest payout. Here's how to read one.

The three columns

• Prize amount — the dollar value of that tier (for example, $50,000, $500, $20).
• Original prize count — how many prizes at that tier existed when the game launched. See our original prize count guide for more detail.
• Remaining count — how many of those original prizes are still unclaimed based on the latest available lottery data.

Example

If a $50,000 prize tier started with 160 prizes and 52 remain, that means 108 of those prizes have already been claimed or are no longer available. Reading every tier this way — not just the top prize — gives a much fuller picture of how much of a game has sold through than the top prize alone.

Putting it together

A game with its top prize gone but strong remaining counts across its lower tiers is a very different picture from a game with every tier nearly sold out. Neither situation predicts whether any specific ticket will win — the data only reflects what has already been publicly reported as claimed.

Always verify with the official source: Prize tier data is published by each state lottery and can change daily. Always confirm current figures on the official state lottery website before buying a ticket.