Sunday, 21 September 2014

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (9, 32, 34) with the draw of 31 August 2014 — its closest relative in 158 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 75% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (20 September 2014): 18, 34 carried over. Chance says 50% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 117 — the 67th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 105. No two numbers side by side. 42% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

9 had not appeared for 21 draws. A number waits about 8 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 0.7× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 4% of the jackpot.

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