Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Its nearest twin

Shares 2 of 6 numbers (8, 41) with the draw of 24 July 2010 — its closest relative in 33 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (24 July 2010): 8, 41 carried over. Chance says 63% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 148 — the 74th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 129. Side-by-side numbers: 40–41. 56% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

18 had not appeared for 9 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 0.9× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 20% of the jackpot.

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