Thursday, 29 September 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (12, 14, 21, 25) with the draw of 19 December 2015 — its closest relative in 2,025 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 49% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (28 September 2016): 12, 25 carried over. Chance says 53% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 85 — the 29th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 98. Side-by-side numbers: 12–13, 13–14. 45% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

14 had not appeared for 15 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 1.2× 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.