If you've ever dreamed of finding a golden ticket, this might be as close as it gets.
Right now in New York, there's a $5 scratch ticket called $1,000,000 GOLD that has something incredibly rare going for it: half of the million-dollar jackpots are still out there, but only 9% of the tickets are left to buy.
That means your odds of hitting a life-changing prize have never been better on this game.
Why This Ticket Is Special
Here's what makes this ticket stand out from every other scratcher in the country:
- 2 million-dollar jackpots remain — out of 4 original prizes
- 90% of tickets already sold — the jackpots survived while most tickets didn't
- Your jackpot odds have essentially doubled — same number of big prizes, way fewer tickets to compete with
Think about it this way: when this game launched, those 4 jackpots were spread across millions of tickets. Now, 2 of those jackpots are hiding somewhere in the remaining 9% of unsold tickets. The needle in the haystack just got a lot easier to find.
What the Numbers Say
At ScratchJack, we track something called "expected value" — basically, how much you'd get back on average for every dollar you spend. Most scratch tickets give you back around 60-75 cents on the dollar (not great, but that's gambling).
This ticket? It's at 113%. That means on average, you'd get back $5.65 for every $5 ticket. That almost never happens.
When we ranked every active scratch ticket across 18 states, this one came out on top. It's not just the best ticket in New York — it's the best ticket in America right now.
The Reality Check
Before you rush out to buy a stack of these, let's be real:
Better odds doesn't mean you'll definitely win. You're still more likely to lose than win on any single ticket. The difference is that if you're going to play anyway, this is the smartest ticket to play right now.
The math favors you on this one, but it's still gambling. Only play with money you can afford to lose.
How Long Will This Last?
Not long. This opportunity disappears the moment someone scratches off one of those remaining jackpots. Once those big prizes are claimed, this ticket becomes just another average scratcher.
We update our data daily from the official New York Lottery website. Check our New York page to see if those jackpots are still out there — because once they're gone, they're gone.
Want to Find Deals Like This?
This kind of opportunity is exactly why we built ScratchJack. We crunch the numbers on thousands of scratch tickets across 18 states every single day, looking for games where the odds have shifted in the player's favor.
Most of the time, the house wins. But every now and then, the numbers line up just right — and when they do, we'll find it.