Saturday, 15 May 2010

Its nearest twin

Shares 2 of 6 numbers (32, 42) with the draw of 26 April 2010 — its closest relative in 57 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (12 May 2010): nothing carried over. Chance says 56% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 151 — the 51th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 150. Side-by-side numbers: 5–6. 50% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

5 had not appeared for 14 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 0.7× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 52% of the jackpot.

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