Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (12, 27, 33) with the draw of 23 December 2012 — its closest relative in 992 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (31 December 2012): 8 carried over. Chance says 55% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 83 — the 33th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 93. No two numbers side by side. 47% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

3 had not appeared for 14 draws. A number waits about 7 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 1.1× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as 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.