Friday, 28 May 2010

Its nearest twin

Shares 2 of 5 numbers (18, 42) with the draw of 12 May 2010 — its closest relative in 22 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 84% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (26 May 2010): nothing carried over. Chance says 45% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 116 — the 44th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 120. No two numbers side by side. 37% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

18 had not appeared for 6 draws. A number waits about 9 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 0.8× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 7% of the jackpot.

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