Monday, 15 August 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (20, 23, 24, 28) with the draw of 17 December 2015 — its closest relative in 2,315 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 83% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (14 August 2016): 20 carried over. Chance says 61% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 124 — the 99th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 80. Side-by-side numbers: 23–24, 28–29. 52% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

28 had not appeared for 15 draws. A number waits about 6 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 1.1× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 0% of the jackpot.

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