Thursday, 5 September 2013

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (18, 19, 20) with the draw of 2 September 2013 — its closest relative in 613 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (4 September 2013): 19 carried over. Chance says 55% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 77 — the 24th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 93. Side-by-side numbers: 18–19, 19–20. 47% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

11 had not appeared for 13 draws. A number waits about 7 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 1.9× 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.