Number 42

In PowerBall under the 5/50 + 1/20 · since Jun 2018 rules — 865 draws, 5 from 1–50.

82times drawn · chance expected 87 −0.51σ

24draws waiting · a wait this long: 9% for any number

10.2average wait between appearances · chance says 10.0

60longest completed wait · 15% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 82 times in 865 draws against 86.5 expected, −0.51σ. Each draw is independent: after 24 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 82 times in 865 draws · average wait 10.2 draws · longest completed wait 60 · waiting 24 draws now

a completed wait — darker is longer the wait still running — a lower bound, not a finished gap

Where it lands in a sorted draw

Sort a draw and 42 has a favourite seat — chance gives a large number the high positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest1 · chance 0.0
2nd smallest1 · chance 0.9
3rd smallest9 · chance 8.9
4th smallest37 · chance 33.0
5th smallest34 · chance 39.2

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 6.7 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

13 35 39 49 9 20

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 49 numbers; chance expected about 0.1 still unmet by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 42 is picked about 0.86× as often as an indifferent choice — 34th most popular of 50. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.

Numbers above 31 ×0.86

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 42 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2026-07-17	5	5th	6 9 31 37 42
2026-06-30	38	4th	21 26 40 42 44
2026-02-17	11	5th	5 15 23 24 42
2026-01-09	3	4th	11 20 35 42

What this cannot tell you

Nothing here predicts the next draw. A number’s history is a record of a fair machine’s past, and the machine keeps none of it: 42 is drawn with probability 5/50 tonight whatever it did last week.

2024-04-12	1	3rd	22 26 42 43 45
2024-04-09	11	5th	5 7 31 36 42
2024-03-01	13	4th	10 30 35 42 46
2024-01-16	17	4th	5 29 40 42 47
2023-11-17	8	5th	4 20 24 30 42
2023-10-20	20	5th	3 7 13 18 42
2023-08-11	17	3rd	30 35 42 43 44
2023-06-13	7	5th	10 28 31 35 42
2023-05-19	14	4th	3 16 22 42 49
2023-03-31	1	4th	7 20 41 42 49
2023-03-28	4	4th	10 22 27 42 49
2023-03-14	9	4th	8 20 29 42 44
2023-02-10	2	4th	3 5 21 42 46
2023-02-03	9	4th	17 32 35 42 43
2023-01-03	29	5th	2 21 33 39 42
2022-09-23	11	3rd	9 25 42 46 47
2022-08-16	2	4th	21 33 40 42 48
2022-08-09	26	4th	6 26 39 42 43
2022-05-10	5	3rd	22 38 42 48 49
2022-04-22	3	5th	13 20 30 38 42
2022-04-12	2	5th	11 15 28 34 42
2022-04-05	2	4th	18 36 38 42 50
2022-03-29	23	4th	1 20 35 42 46
2022-01-07	15	4th	10 12 37 42 43
2021-11-16	3	4th	8 9 36 42 50
2021-11-05	2	5th	9 15 38 40 42
2021-10-29	7	2nd	29 42 45 47 49
2021-10-05	9	4th	2 13 20 42 47
2021-09-03	1	4th	2 9 18 42 43
2021-08-31	5	4th	9 10 35 42 48
2021-08-13	7	4th	5 23 41 42 50
2021-07-20	2	5th	7 32 33 40 42
2021-07-13	12	5th	2 28 29 38 42
2021-06-01	14	5th	3 5 23 37 42
2021-04-13	2	5th	6 8 22 31 42
2021-04-06	3	4th	3 13 21 42 45
2021-03-26	7	4th	5 25 27 42 47
2021-03-02	2	5th	1 11 21 32 42
2021-02-23	10	5th	8 13 25 32 42
2021-01-19	4	4th	13 16 28 42 45
2021-01-05	3	3rd	4 17 42 46 48
2020-12-22	38	5th	9 12 15 27 42
2020-08-11	1	5th	27 29 39 40 42
2020-08-07	21	3rd	11 30 42 45 48
2020-05-26	9	5th	15 25 34 39 42
2020-04-24	5	4th	10 12 22 42 50
2020-04-07	22	5th	4 13 32 34 42
2020-01-21	37	4th	14 18 32 42 49
2019-09-13	60	5th	8 9 10 11 42
2019-02-15	2	4th	19 20 37 42 43
2019-02-08	8	5th	22 30 39 41 42
2019-01-11	3	5th	8 21 25 29 42
2019-01-01	6	1st	42 44 46 47 48
2018-12-11	11	4th	7 29 39 42 48
2018-11-02	8	4th	2 30 36 42 47
2018-10-05	10	3rd	32 36 42 46 49
2018-08-31	4	3rd	7 38 42 43 47
2018-08-17	—	5th	9 19 24 35 42