Number 42

In El Gordo de la Primitiva under the 5/54 + 1/9 · since Jan 2010 rules — 868 draws, 5 from 1–54.

81times drawn · chance expected 80 +0.07σ

17draws waiting · a wait this long: 21% for any number

10.2average wait between appearances · chance says 10.8

37longest completed wait · 91% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 81 times in 868 draws against 80.4 expected, +0.07σ. Each draw is independent: after 17 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 81 times in 868 draws · average wait 10.2 draws · longest completed wait 37 · waiting 17 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 smallest0 · chance 0.1
2nd smallest3 · chance 2.5
3rd smallest18 · chance 15.0
4th smallest32 · chance 35.4
5th smallest28 · chance 28.0

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 6.1 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

2 6 34 53 54 24

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 53 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 54. 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
2026-06-28	7	5th	14 27 38 41 42
2026-05-10	5	3rd	17 34 42 43 53
2026-04-05	8	5th	6 18 23 39 42
2026-02-08	2	5th	3 16

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 5/54 tonight whatever it did last week.

2022-08-28	7	4th	9 15 28 42 46
2022-07-10	7	4th	29 39 40 42 53
2022-05-22	23	5th	2 6 12 25 42
2021-12-12	34	3rd	34 39 42 43 44
2021-04-18	4	4th	19 21 24 42 44
2021-03-21	2	5th	21 27 30 34 42
2021-03-07	11	4th	15 24 40 42 48
2020-12-20	19	3rd	2 6 42 50 54
2020-08-09	11	4th	10 34 37 42 49
2020-03-15	35	5th	4 7 12 22 42
2019-07-14	6	4th	12 18 40 42 51
2019-06-02	10	4th	10 14 31 42 43
2019-03-24	9	5th	1 8 9 16 42
2019-01-20	9	5th	3 7 24 36 42
2018-11-18	1	4th	19 27 39 42 45
2018-11-11	9	3rd	2 15 42 46 53
2018-09-09	1	5th	3 26 30 35 42
2018-09-02	7	5th	13 15 24 27 42
2018-07-15	11	4th	3 21 40 42 49
2018-04-29	2	4th	13 21 40 42 52
2018-04-15	8	4th	2 12 25 42 52
2018-02-18	8	3rd	23 30 42 51 54
2017-12-24	27	4th	6 7 34 42 53
2017-06-18	4	4th	5 13 31 42 52
2017-05-21	4	4th	9 33 34 42 47
2017-04-23	7	5th	4 5 7 10 42
2017-03-05	16	3rd	3 35 42 45 54
2016-11-13	9	2nd	14 42 46 48 53
2016-09-11	2	4th	11 15 39 42 48
2016-08-28	7	5th	2 11 13 26 42
2016-07-10	1	5th	6 10 18 26 42
2016-07-03	5	4th	6 16 32 42 50
2016-05-29	17	5th	7 12 26 39 42
2016-01-31	17	4th	6 16 33 42 43
2015-10-04	6	5th	9 18 25 39 42
2015-08-23	3	5th	10 13 21 38 42
2015-08-02	14	4th	16 21 26 42 54
2015-04-26	2	4th	19 20 22 42 50
2015-04-12	3	5th	17 25 29 31 42
2015-03-22	9	4th	11 15 36 42 48
2015-01-18	9	5th	22 30 32 34 42
2014-11-16	4	3rd	22 40 42 46 48
2014-10-19	34	4th	14 36 39 42 45
2014-02-23	1	5th	4 20 34 41 42
2014-02-16	5	3rd	11 41 42 48 53
2014-01-12	10	5th	20 25 33 41 42
2013-11-03	5	5th	2 9 17 28 42
2013-09-29	6	4th	2 26 40 42 54
2013-08-18	34	4th	1 12 33 42 46
2012-12-23	8	4th	12 18 40 42 54
2012-10-28	22	3rd	23 34 42 43 45
2012-05-27	26	4th	1 4 13 42 54
2011-11-27	3	4th	4 26 32 42 44
2011-11-06	37	3rd	15 22 42 43 47
2011-02-20	20	4th	7 18 35 42 51
2010-10-03	2	4th	9 11 33 42 50
2010-09-19	—	4th	34 35 41 42 53