Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 6 numbers (7, 8, 25, 37) with the draw of 28 December 2011 — its closest relative in 231 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 22% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (17 March 2012): 25 carried over. Chance says 57% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 141 — the 42th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 147. Side-by-side numbers: 7–8, 36–37. 50% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

28 had not appeared for 13 draws. A number waits about 8 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 1.2× as often as an average ticket — more popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 32% of the jackpot.

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