Number 31

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

70times drawn · chance expected 55 +2.03σ

2draws waiting · a wait this long: 93% for any number

11.2average wait between appearances · chance says 14.0

41longest completed wait · 97% chance of one at least that long

31 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 70 times in 776 draws against 55.4 expected, +2.03σ. Each draw is independent: after 2 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 31, draw by draw

Drawn 70 times in 776 draws · average wait 11.2 draws · longest completed wait 41 · waiting 2 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 31 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 smallest2 · chance 6.7
2nd smallest20 · chance 22.2
3rd smallest33 · chance 26.1
4th smallest12 · chance 12.8
5th smallest3 · chance 2.2

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 4.1 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

2 8 19 34 14 18

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

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 31 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 31 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2025-03-28	2	3rd	2 9 31 60 63
2025-03-21	1	3rd	15 22 31 52 57
2025-03-18	9	3rd	27 28 31 32 33
2025-02-14	3	3rd	11 19

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

2022-07-05	24	2nd	27 31 50 51 61
2022-04-12	13	5th	2 8 14 20 31
2022-02-25	17	2nd	15 31 40 56 66
2021-12-28	2	4th	3 5 8 31 38
2021-12-21	19	2nd	25 31 58 64 67
2021-10-15	13	3rd	3 20 31 34 65
2021-08-31	9	3rd	8 14 31 58 68
2021-07-30	8	3rd	19 26 31 52 68
2021-07-02	11	2nd	8 31 32 34 45
2021-05-25	21	3rd	14 21 31 34 54
2021-03-12	9	4th	2 24 25 31 65
2021-02-09	12	4th	7 18 21 31 40
2020-12-29	5	2nd	1 31 35 48 62
2020-12-11	11	2nd	19 31 37 55 67
2020-11-03	16	2nd	7 31 44 45 55
2020-09-08	5	4th	7 10 15 31 57
2020-08-21	7	3rd	11 15 31 42 63
2020-07-28	25	4th	17 20 27 31 34
2020-05-01	11	3rd	28 30 31 35 66
2020-03-24	15	5th	2 8 16 18 31
2020-01-31	3	2nd	28 31 33 57 62
2020-01-21	2	4th	16 18 29 31 37
2020-01-14	10	4th	9 11 13 31 47
2019-12-10	1	2nd	18 31 46 54 61
2019-12-06	2	2nd	20 31 40 46 61
2019-11-29	18	3rd	6 8 31 50 65
2019-09-27	6	3rd	12 20 31 43 45
2019-09-06	7	5th	4 11 13 19 31
2019-08-13	2	3rd	7 27 31 34 51
2019-08-06	6	3rd	11 17 31 43 55
2019-07-16	41	3rd	8 16 31 48 52
2019-02-22	4	3rd	18 24 31 34 55
2019-02-08	8	3rd	14 24 31 42 48
2019-01-11	11	3rd	4 5 31 62 69
2018-12-04	4	2nd	28 31 41 42 50
2018-11-20	6	3rd	10 16 31 42 66
2018-10-30	8	2nd	20 31 39 46 49
2018-10-02	4	4th	2 22 29 31 34
2018-09-18	9	1st	31 32 43 63 68
2018-08-17	33	2nd	1 31 32 47 56
2018-04-24	4	3rd	3 19 31 32 48
2018-04-10	3	3rd	5 13 31 43 53
2018-03-30	19	3rd	11 28 31 46 59
2018-01-23	4	4th	2 6 30 31 55
2018-01-09	20	3rd	16 29 31 65 67
2017-10-31	—	3rd	6 28 31 52 53