Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (12, 29, 35) with the draw of 20 April 2011 — its closest relative in 508 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 99% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (29 August 2011): 29 carried over. Chance says 52% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 108 — the 62th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 100. Side-by-side numbers: 11–12. 44% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

12 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 0.9× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as 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.