Number 22

In Mega Millions under the 5/70 + 1/25 · Oct 2017 – Apr 2025 rules — 776 draws, 5 from 1–70 (an earlier era).

62times drawn · chance expected 55 +0.92σ

4draws waiting · a wait this long: 80% for any number

12.6average wait between appearances · chance says 14.0

62longest completed wait · 49% chance of one at least that long

22 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 62 times in 776 draws against 55.4 expected, +0.92σ. Each draw is independent: after 4 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 22, draw by draw

Drawn 62 times in 776 draws · average wait 12.6 draws · longest completed wait 62 · waiting 4 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 22 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest8 · chance 14.0
2nd smallest36 · chance 26.0
3rd smallest11 · chance 17.0
4th smallest6 · chance 4.6
5th smallest1 · chance 0.4

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 3.6 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

42 48 58 5 38 43

Never drawn alongside 1 of the other 69 numbers; chance expects about 2 such strangers by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 22 is picked about 1.22× as often as an indifferent choice — 15th most popular of 70. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.

Numbers 1–31 — the birthday zone ×1.22

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 22 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2025-03-21	23	2nd	15 22 31 52 57
2024-12-31	10	2nd	13 22 27 29 35
2024-11-26	7	2nd	5 22 24 39 42
2024-11-01	1	2nd	11 22

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: 22 is drawn with probability 5/70 tonight whatever it did last week.

2022-10-14	38	2nd	9 22 26 41 44
2022-06-03	17	3rd	11 16 22 48 59
2022-04-05	2	1st	22 43 60 63 64
2022-03-29	8	2nd	7 22 36 45 47
2022-03-01	2	2nd	18 22 38 39 50
2022-02-22	11	3rd	6 17 22 57 62
2022-01-14	3	4th	5 8 13 22 48
2022-01-04	9	5th	4 6 16 21 22
2021-12-03	5	1st	22 45 48 58 61
2021-11-16	44	2nd	6 22 44 53 65
2021-06-15	2	2nd	18 22 27 38 52
2021-06-08	12	2nd	9 22 39 41 54
2021-04-27	5	2nd	15 22 30 41 42
2021-04-09	62	1st	22 26 27 58 66
2020-09-04	7	2nd	19 22 24 28 53
2020-08-11	2	2nd	8 22 29 43 56
2020-08-04	25	2nd	2 22 30 42 62
2020-05-08	16	3rd	5 20 22 61 70
2020-03-13	25	2nd	7 22 37 43 44
2019-12-17	8	1st	22 30 53 55 56
2019-11-19	11	1st	22 43 44 47 66
2019-10-11	33	2nd	14 22 30 37 60
2019-06-18	13	3rd	12 14 22 24 48
2019-05-03	7	3rd	8 16 22 66 68
2019-04-09	1	2nd	11 22 34 44 58
2019-04-05	3	2nd	8 22 24 38 64
2019-03-26	28	3rd	4 14 22 43 58
2018-12-18	1	2nd	13 22 32 60 69
2018-12-14	19	2nd	5 22 26 43 49
2018-10-09	2	2nd	20 22 39 54 60
2018-10-02	15	2nd	2 22 29 31 34
2018-08-10	8	4th	1 3 12 22 42
2018-07-13	11	2nd	21 22 39 59 68
2018-06-05	53	1st	22 33 41 48 52
2017-12-01	3	2nd	16 22 40 41 59
2017-11-21	2	3rd	3 7 22 27 50
2017-11-14	3	4th	1 14 21 22 28
2017-11-03	—	2nd	10 22 42 61 69