TIRAGE GLOSSARY

What does "Top left" mean for a scratch-off?

By Tirage Analysis Desk · · 3 min · 🌟 featured-snippet target

Definition

Top prizes remaining is the count of the highest-tier prize in a scratch-off game that has not yet been claimed. For example, "3 of 6 top prizes remaining" means 3 of the original 6 jackpot-level prizes are still available to be won.

Also called: top prizes remaining, jackpot remaining, top prize count, big prizes left

How it's calculated

State lotteries publish remaining-prize counts for each prize tier. Our data feeds pull this figure daily from the official remaining-prizes page for each state. The top tier is defined as the prize tier with the highest per-prize dollar value in a game.

When it matters

Top prizes remaining is arguably the single most important field for a buyer's decision. When the last top prize is claimed, EV/$ typically collapses, and a game that was profitable becomes a poor buy instantly. Conversely, a game with all top prizes intact on a heavily sold-through print run is a rare opportunity.

Example

A game shows "Top prizes remaining: 0 of 6." All jackpots have been claimed. EV/$ has likely dropped well below 0.60 regardless of overall odds. Our system flags these games as "jackpot claimed" and they are excluded from +EV rankings.

People also ask

How often is the top-prize-remaining count updated?+

Our autonomous scanning infrastructure refreshes remaining-prize data daily for most states, and intraday for states that publish real-time counts (TX, NY, FL, PA, NC). The snapshot timestamp on each game shows when data was last detected.

Can the top-prize count go up?+

No. Prize counts are monotonically decreasing — they can only go down as prizes are claimed. An apparent increase would indicate a data correction by the state lottery (rare, but it happens when a prize is voided).

Are second-tier prizes tracked too?+

Yes. Our game detail pages show the full prize ladder with remaining counts for every tracked tier. Second- and third-tier prizes are also factored into EV/$ calculations.

See this metric live in the game browser →