Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (7, 28, 39) with the draw of 22 March 2013 — its closest relative in 921 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (22 February 2016): 44 carried over. Chance says 45% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 156 — the 89th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 120. Side-by-side numbers: 38–39. 37% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

39 had not appeared for 25 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 0.6× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 8% of the jackpot.

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