Thursday, 25 May 2017

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (10, 27, 28) with the draw of 17 January 2017 — its closest relative in 371 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 96% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (24 May 2017): nothing carried over. Chance says 50% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 102 — the 45th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 105. Side-by-side numbers: 27–28, 28–29. 42% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

8 had not appeared for 19 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 2.3× as often as an average ticket — more popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 1% of the jackpot.

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