Sunday, 25 September 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (1, 3, 17, 26) with the draw of 26 January 2014 — its closest relative in 2,353 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 88% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (24 September 2016): 26 carried over. Chance says 63% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 62 — the 19th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 78. No two numbers side by side. 54% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

3 had not appeared for 12 draws. A number waits about 6 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 1.4× 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.