Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Its nearest twin

Shares 2 of 5 numbers (20, 24) with the draw of 10 February 2010 — its closest relative in 45 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (22 February 2010): 37 carried over. Chance says 54% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 128 — the 92th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 95. Side-by-side numbers: 24–25. 46% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

22 had not appeared for 24 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 0.8× as often as an average ticket — less popular than 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.