Saturday, 26 August 2023

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (20, 28, 31) and 0 of 1 stars with the draw of 21 May 2022 — its closest relative in 1,396 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (23 August 2023): 8 carried over. Chance says 50% of draws repeat at least one number. Stars: none repeated (17% expected).

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 100 — the 42th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 105. No two numbers side by side. 42% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

20 had not appeared for 9 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 1.6× as often as an average ticket — more popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 2% of the jackpot.

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