In Mega Millions under the 5/56 + 1/46 · Jun 2005 – Oct 2013 rules — 869 draws, 5 from 1–56 (an earlier era).
64times drawn · chance expected 78 −1.62σ
18draws waiting · a wait this long: 20% for any number
13.1average wait between appearances · chance says 11.2
50longest completed wait · 48% chance of one at least that long
26 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 64 times in 869 draws against 77.6 expected, −1.62σ. Each draw is independent: after 18 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
26
Number 26, draw by draw
Drawn 64 times in 869 draws · average wait 13.1 draws · longest completed wait 50 · waiting 18 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 26 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.
It has shared a draw with every one of the other 55 numbers; chance expected about 0.5 still unmet by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 26 is picked about 1.22× as often as an indifferent choice — 15th most popular of 56. 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: 26 is drawn with probability 5/56 tonight whatever it did last week.