Thursday, 29 December 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (16, 19, 27, 28) with the draw of 12 September 2012 — its closest relative in 2,444 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 81% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (28 December 2016): 32 carried over. Chance says 60% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 122 — the 98th 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 25 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 0.6× as often as an average ticket — less 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.