Thursday, 5 September 2013

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (1, 2, 2, 2) with the draw of 23 August 2013 — its closest relative in 239 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (4 September 2013): nothing carried over. Chance says 100% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 16 — the 8th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 23. Side-by-side numbers: 1–2. 98% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

1 had not appeared for 7 draws. A number waits about 2 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 0% of the jackpot.

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