Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Its nearest twin

Shares 5 of 6 numbers (8, 14, 22, 34, 35) with the draw of 16 July 2014 — its closest relative in 1,705 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 9.9% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (15 December 2014): 34 carried over. Chance says 66% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 152 — the 89th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 120. Side-by-side numbers: 34–35. 59% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

8 had not appeared for 7 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 0.5× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 22% of the jackpot.

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