Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (9, 37, 38) with the draw of 18 September 2010 — its closest relative in 206 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 83% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (24 March 2012): nothing carried over. Chance says 50% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 118 — the 69th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 105. Side-by-side numbers: 37–38. 42% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

38 had not appeared for 56 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 0.8× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 3% of the jackpot.

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