Monday, 14 October 2013

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (14, 33, 42) with the draw of 2 January 2012 — its closest relative in 551 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 96% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (11 October 2013): 33 carried over. Chance says 45% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 136 — the 70th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 120. Side-by-side numbers: 42–43. 37% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

4 had not appeared for 24 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 0.5× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 9% of the jackpot.

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