FILE PHOTO: MGN What would you buy if you won the lottery? While some fantasize about a lavish lifestyle, 24 year old Melissa Ayers says she’d pay her bills. Each week, Ayers buys a few scratch off tickets. “I know it’s never guaranteed, but when it does happen it’s very, very helpful,” Ayers said. As a store manager, she works up to sixty hours a week. “Usually its work here and immediately go home and take care of the babies.” However, that big payday may not happen if the games she’s playing don’t have any top prizes left. Turns out, scratch-off game tickets can be sold even after the top prizes sell out. On the day we talked to Ayers, some of the games didn’t have any left. The Florida Lottery posts on its web site the number of remaining top prizes for scratch-off games. The Florida Lottery told us in a statement: “Depending on the game, there are opportunities to win large second tier prizes, some up to $1 million. Therefore, the lottery does not necessarily remove all games once the top prizes are claimed “All Florida Lottery tickets have a finite lifecycle based on the quantity of tickets printed and the sales rate. Scratch-Off games are ended on a quarterly basis as a result of the following factors: sales levels, low inventory levels, contract requirements, seasonality and other unforeseen circumstances such as changing market conditions or print defects. “Since all lottery games are random, there is no specific method to increase your odds of winning on scratch-off or draw tickets. Every player has an equal chance of winning.” After seeing her favorite games had a low number of remaining top prizes left, Ayers opted for a different game. While she wasn’t a winner, says she’s going to be making her choices a little more carefully. The Florida Lottery began posting this information in 2004. For example: “$500 A WEEK FOR LIFE” has 0 of 6 top prizes left, but “$2 MONOPOLY JACKPOT” with a $50,000 top prize has 19 of 20 top prizes left. *As of as of July, 25, at 2:30 p.m. on the Florida Lottery website. If you’d like to check the games you play, click HERE.