In Mega Millions under the 5/70 + 1/25 · Oct 2017 – Apr 2025 rules — 776 draws, 5 from 1–70 (an earlier era).
48times drawn · chance expected 55 −1.04σ
24draws waiting · a wait this long: 18% for any number
15.9average wait between appearances · chance says 14.0
61longest completed wait · 43% chance of one at least that long
23 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 48 times in 776 draws against 55.4 expected, −1.04σ. Each draw is independent: after 24 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
23
Number 23, draw by draw
Drawn 48 times in 776 draws · average wait 15.9 draws · longest completed wait 61 · waiting 24 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 23 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.
Never drawn alongside 6 of the other 69 numbers; chance expects about 4 such strangers by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 23 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.
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: 23 is drawn with probability 5/70 tonight whatever it did last week.