Number 26

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

60times drawn · chance expected 55 +0.64σ

7draws waiting · a wait this long: 64% for any number

12.9average wait between appearances · chance says 14.0

83longest completed wait · 13% chance of one at least that long

26 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 60 times in 776 draws against 55.4 expected, +0.64σ. Each draw is independent: after 7 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 26, draw by draw

Drawn 60 times in 776 draws · average wait 12.9 draws · longest completed wait 83 · waiting 7 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.

1st smallest5 · chance 9.4
2nd smallest21 · chance 23.0
3rd smallest29 · chance 19.7
4th smallest5 · chance 7.0
5th smallest0 · chance 0.9

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 3.5 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

9 14 64 1 48 49

Never drawn alongside 3 of the other 69 numbers; chance expects about 2 such strangers 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 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 26 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2025-03-11	26	3rd	1 19 26 38 69
2024-12-10	5	3rd	12 14 26 48 52
2024-11-22	7	3rd	13 20 26 32 65
2024-10-29	1	3rd	16 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: 26 is drawn with probability 5/70 tonight whatever it did last week.

2022-07-15	30	3rd	8 20 26 53 64
2022-04-01	35	1st	26 42 47 48 63
2021-11-30	6	3rd	7 8 26 30 39
2021-11-09	2	4th	9 14 16 26 49
2021-11-02	1	3rd	5 10 26 58 65
2021-10-29	2	2nd	15 26 28 35 45
2021-10-22	3	3rd	9 14 26 29 66
2021-10-12	14	2nd	21 26 56 61 65
2021-08-24	7	3rd	17 18 26 52 67
2021-07-30	3	2nd	19 26 31 52 68
2021-07-20	2	2nd	10 26 30 52 57
2021-07-13	6	4th	3 10 17 26 55
2021-06-22	15	2nd	1 26 48 51 59
2021-04-30	6	3rd	8 19 26 48 49
2021-04-09	22	2nd	22 26 27 58 66
2021-01-22	1	2nd	4 26 42 50 60
2021-01-19	2	3rd	10 19 26 28 50
2021-01-12	15	3rd	12 14 26 28 33
2020-11-20	18	1st	26 33 45 61 68
2020-09-18	5	1st	26 29 41 52 64
2020-09-01	4	3rd	15 25 26 38 47
2020-08-18	8	3rd	4 18 26 27 58
2020-07-21	2	3rd	14 25 26 41 43
2020-07-14	12	2nd	6 26 55 56 64
2020-06-02	83	4th	9 20 23 26 29
2019-08-16	4	4th	4 14 24 26 46
2019-08-02	7	3rd	11 20 26 48 70
2019-07-09	11	2nd	12 26 40 48 64
2019-05-31	41	3rd	7 8 26 65 67
2019-01-08	7	2nd	13 26 29 38 64
2018-12-14	35	3rd	5 22 26 43 49
2018-08-14	25	2nd	11 26 44 45 46
2018-05-18	18	2nd	9 26 53 64 66
2018-03-16	3	3rd	1 13 26 33 52
2018-03-06	31	3rd	1 4 26 35 39
2017-11-17	—	2nd	3 26 55 58 70