Number 42

In Lotto America under the 5/52 + 1/10 · since Nov 2017 rules — 1,156 draws, 5 from 1–52.

111times drawn · chance expected 111 −0.02σ

19draws waiting · a wait this long: 16% for any number

10.3average wait between appearances · chance says 10.4

68longest completed wait · 12% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 111 times in 1,156 draws against 111.2 expected, −0.02σ. Each draw is independent: after 19 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 111 times in 1,156 draws · average wait 10.3 draws · longest completed wait 68 · waiting 19 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 2.2
3rd smallest16 · chance 16.4
4th smallest39 · chance 47.3
5th smallest53 · chance 45.0

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 8.7 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

21 17 18 35 40 4

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 51 numbers; chance expected about 0.0 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 52. 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
2026-09-07	7	5th	1 15 24 35 42
2026-08-22	43	4th	20 23 36 42 50
2026-05-13	2	5th	17 18 28 37 42
2026-05-09	9	5th	8 12 13

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 5/52 tonight whatever it did last week.

2025-01-29	14	4th	9 20 23 42 45
2024-12-28	1	5th	12 17 22 30 42
2024-12-25	1	4th	4 5 40 42 52
2024-12-23	8	4th	4 21 28 42 52
2024-12-04	7	4th	10 13 32 42 44
2024-11-18	2	4th	20 36 37 42 43
2024-11-13	3	5th	11 23 29 41 42
2024-11-06	2	3rd	3 19 42 47 48
2024-11-02	3	5th	7 9 23 32 42
2024-10-26	1	4th	2 3 25 42 47
2024-10-23	15	3rd	18 38 42 44 47
2024-09-18	2	4th	7 17 29 42 45
2024-09-14	6	4th	6 9 38 42 50
2024-08-31	2	4th	17 18 32 42 51
2024-08-26	4	3rd	23 38 42 43 44
2024-08-17	1	4th	4 26 38 42 50
2024-08-14	2	5th	8 11 15 32 42
2024-08-10	1	5th	6 19 40 41 42
2024-08-07	2	3rd	15 24 42 44 51
2024-08-03	3	4th	5 10 21 42 43
2024-07-27	7	4th	9 15 17 42 45
2024-07-10	2	4th	6 21 25 42 51
2024-07-06	3	5th	11 15 25 38 42
2024-06-29	24	5th	10 15 21 22 42
2024-05-04	12	5th	5 11 25 37 42
2024-04-06	13	5th	2 23 32 35 42
2024-03-06	11	5th	20 21 24 40 42
2024-02-10	15	5th	1 3 18 21 42
2024-01-06	11	3rd	14 34 42 46 51
2023-12-11	8	3rd	18 39 42 47 52
2023-11-22	21	4th	17 19 37 42 45
2023-10-04	30	5th	4 5 8 26 42
2023-07-26	5	5th	4 8 25 36 42
2023-07-15	5	4th	5 6 20 42 48
2023-07-03	12	4th	12 27 37 42 43
2023-06-05	3	4th	6 15 33 42 43
2023-05-29	10	3rd	19 34 42 50 52
2023-05-06	54	3rd	13 20 42 43 46
2022-12-31	12	5th	9 29 30 35 42
2022-12-03	1	4th	30 32 36 42 43
2022-11-30	3	4th	12 21 35 42 45
2022-11-23	26	5th	12 21 29 35 42
2022-09-24	22	5th	3 20 33 34 42
2022-08-03	1	4th	13 20 35 42 43
2022-08-01	5	3rd	21 24 42 48 51
2022-07-20	13	4th	1 15 23 42 48
2022-06-08	3	5th	2 15 29 39 42
2022-05-28	15	4th	7 20 40 42 52
2022-04-06	13	4th	22 27 38 42 43
2022-02-19	2	3rd	16 33 42 46 47
2022-02-12	68	4th	1 14 28 42 47
2021-06-19	6	4th	24 35 39 42 45
2021-05-29	3	5th	4 16 18 34 42
2021-05-19	8	5th	5 18 34 38 42
2021-04-21	5	3rd	4 41 42 44 45
2021-04-03	1	2nd	17 42 43 47 48
2021-03-31	2	5th	17 18 21 35 42
2021-03-24	5	5th	1 37 39 40 42
2021-03-06	12	4th	23 33 37 42 47
2021-01-23	19	5th	10 15 20 34 42
2020-11-18	16	4th	17 35 39 42 43
2020-09-23	5	5th	6 15 37 41 42
2020-09-05	7	5th	6 10 31 39 42
2020-08-12	28	5th	5 6 35 39 42
2020-05-06	3	5th	18 25 31 35 42
2020-04-25	1	4th	16 28 39 42 44
2020-04-22	60	5th	11 12 16 41 42
2019-09-25	9	4th	10 24 40 42 49
2019-08-24	9	4th	5 6 41 42 44
2019-07-24	4	5th	26 28 33 34 42
2019-07-10	3	5th	16 22 32 36 42
2019-06-29	28	4th	4 30 40 42 48
2019-03-23	1	3rd	30 40 42 45 46
2019-03-20	2	5th	4 21 22 38 42
2019-03-13	16	2nd	18 42 44 48 52
2019-01-16	20	3rd	3 21 42 45 51
2018-11-07	7	5th	19 26 30 36 42
2018-10-13	5	5th	34 36 40 41 42
2018-09-26	4	5th	16 22 28 35 42
2018-09-12	15	4th	1 23 24 42 51
2018-07-21	6	3rd	17 31 42 45 50
2018-06-30	5	5th	20 24 27 35 42
2018-06-13	6	5th	3 17 21 35 42
2018-05-23	29	5th	7 11 24 41 42
2018-02-10	5	2nd	28 42 43 44 52
2018-01-24	14	5th	7 8 17 40 42
2017-12-06	—	5th	18 29 37 39 42