Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (5, 9, 39) with the draw of 26 January 2011 — its closest relative in 309 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 93% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (23 March 2013): 5 carried over. Chance says 50% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 93 — the 31th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 105. Side-by-side numbers: 4–5. 42% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

39 had not appeared for 34 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 0.9× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 3% of the jackpot.

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