49

'O piezzo 'e carne — the piece of meat

No full dossier yet for 49. The Smorfia line below is its place in the Neapolitan book of dreams; more dossiers are written over time.

Smorfia napoletana'O piezzo 'e carnethe piece of meat

Cultural interest — does not change your odds.

The reality check

What the machines actually did with 49, across every lottery this site holds a long record for.

Powerball83of 103 expected−2.00σ
UK Lotto113of 119 expected−0.61σ
EuroMillions97of 104 expected−0.75σ
SuperEnalotto184of 161 expected+1.88σ
Set for Lifepool stops at 44

Across 4 lotteries that hold a 49, its average deviation from expectation is −0.37σ. Statistically ordinary, everywhere. (1 of the games do not go that high.)

The one thing a belief about a number can measurably do is change how many people play it — and a jackpot shared more ways is worth less to each winner. That is the only real consequence, and it is arithmetic rather than folklore.