The current odds of winning any prize on $250,000 Crossword 2026 are 1 in 3.68 (27.15%), recalculated from the prizes still unclaimed. That covers every prize, from the smallest up to the $250,000 top prize.

Yes. 6 of the 20 $250,000 top prizes have been claimed, and 14 are still unclaimed, as of Nov 13, 2026. We estimate about 63% of the game's 19,174,568 tickets are still unsold.

Yes. $250,000 Crossword 2026 is on sale at Illinois Lottery retailers, and the lottery hasn’t announced an end date.

Among the 13 $10 Illinois scratch-offs on sale, $250,000 Crossword 2026 ranks #9 for odds of breaking even, with 1 in 3.68 tickets winning at least the $10 ticket price back. Right now the $10 game with the best odds of breaking even is Sapphire 10s, where 1 in 3.49 tickets wins at least $10 back.

$250,000 Crossword 2026 has 13 prize levels. Odds are for winning that amount or more on one ticket. Current odds, from the prizes still unclaimed: $250,000 at 1 in 862,787 (14 of 20 left); $25,000+ at 1 in 287,596 (28 of 48 left); $1,000+ at 1 in 10,306 (1,130 of 1,680 left); $500+ at 1 in 1,927 (5,095 of 8,153 left); $200+ at 1 in 977 (6,091 of 9,639 left); $150+ at 1 in 564 (9,074 of 14,422 left); $100+ at 1 in 70.1 (150,856 of 239,641 left); $60+ at 1 in 64.5 (15,043 of 23,987 left); $50+ at 1 in 23.7 (322,998 of 512,671 left); $40+ at 1 in 20.6 (75,130 of 119,813 left); $30+ at 1 in 15 (220,449 of 351,707 left); $20+ at 1 in 5.58 (1,357,840 of 2,156,928 left); $10+ at 1 in 3.68 (1,115,632 of 1,757,651 left).

The odds of winning at least your $10 back on one $250,000 Crossword 2026 ticket are 1 in 3.68 (27.15%). The odds of winning more than you paid are 1 in 5.58 (17.91%).

$250,000 Crossword 2026 costs $10 per ticket. It is sold at authorized Illinois Lottery retailers throughout the state.

Yes — Illinois instant tickets and Illinois scratch-offs are the same thing: a paper lottery ticket you scratch to reveal whether it wins. The Illinois Lottery lists them under "Instant Tickets" on its own site. "Instant Tickets" is simply what most players in Illinois call them, while "scratch-off" and "scratch ticket" are the terms used in other states. In Illinois, "instant games" and "instant tickets" mean these same paper tickets you buy at a retailer — not the lottery's online games. Every game ranked on this page is the same physical ticket, whichever name you use for it.

$250,000 Crossword 2026, a $10 Illinois scratch-off, was released on Jul 7, 2026 by the Illinois Lottery.