Friday, 31 December 2010

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (17, 25, 28) with the draw of 26 October 2010 — its closest relative in 268 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 99% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (30 December 2010): nothing carried over. Chance says 60% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 108 — the 90th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 83. Side-by-side numbers: 27–28. 51% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

28 had not appeared for 24 draws. A number waits about 6 on average, and a wait this long was not a signal — the machine has no memory of it.

How many people held it

A line like this is played about 1.3× as often as an average ticket — more popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 1% of the jackpot.

Illustrative model, calibrated to published studies — not live sales.