Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (5, 9, 15) with the draw of 4 August 2012 — its closest relative in 289 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 98% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (15 October 2012): 9 carried over. Chance says 55% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 76 — the 22th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 93. No two numbers side by side. 47% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

5 had not appeared for 5 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 1.0× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 1% of the jackpot.

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