Number 3

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

72times drawn · chance expected 55 +2.31σ

6draws waiting · a wait this long: 69% for any number

10.8average wait between appearances · chance says 14.0

40longest completed wait · 98% chance of one at least that long

3 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 72 times in 776 draws against 55.4 expected, +2.31σ. Each draw is independent: after 6 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 3, draw by draw

Drawn 72 times in 776 draws · average wait 10.8 draws · longest completed wait 40 · waiting 6 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 3 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 smallest65 · chance 63.8
2nd smallest7 · chance 8.0
3rd smallest0 · chance 0.2
4th smallest0 · chance 0.0
5th smallest0 · chance 0.0

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 4.2 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

19 5 16 58 12 18

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 69 numbers; chance expected about 1 still unmet by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 3 is picked about 1.48× as often as an indifferent choice — 2nd 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
Numbers 1–12 — day and month overlap ×1.10
Culturally lucky numbers 3, 8, 9 ×1.10

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 3 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2025-03-14	22	1st	3 17 39 42 70
2024-12-27	8	1st	3 7 37 49 55
2024-11-29	14	1st	3 29 34 37 38
2024-10-11	1	1st	3 10

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

2023-03-28	23	2nd	2 3 18 32 68
2023-01-06	2	1st	3 20 46 59 63
2022-12-30	3	2nd	1 3 6 44 51
2022-12-20	20	1st	3 4 33 36 52
2022-10-11	14	1st	3 7 11 13 38
2022-08-23	21	1st	3 5 47 48 67
2022-06-10	4	1st	3 12 14 18 32
2022-05-27	1	1st	3 14 40 53 54
2022-05-24	17	1st	3 5 6 63 68
2022-03-25	16	1st	3 13 42 51 58
2022-01-28	1	1st	3 16 25 44 55
2022-01-25	4	1st	3 12 38 53 58
2022-01-11	4	2nd	2 3 19 52 58
2021-12-28	20	1st	3 5 8 31 38
2021-10-19	1	1st	3 12 13 19 52
2021-10-15	17	1st	3 20 31 34 65
2021-08-17	10	1st	3 6 16 38 56
2021-07-13	16	1st	3 10 17 26 55
2021-05-18	1	1st	3 5 56 61 66
2021-05-14	34	1st	3 18 41 44 68
2021-01-15	2	1st	3 11 12 38 43
2021-01-08	10	1st	3 6 16 18 58
2020-12-04	24	1st	3 19 24 44 50
2020-09-11	4	1st	3 15 42 48 56
2020-08-28	4	1st	3 9 50 53 64
2020-08-14	40	1st	3 24 29 42 47
2020-03-27	8	1st	3 25 28 50 60
2020-02-28	10	2nd	2 3 14 41 64
2020-01-24	2	1st	3 4 18 23 38
2020-01-17	8	1st	3 25 30 54 70
2019-12-20	12	1st	3 20 23 35 60
2019-11-08	20	1st	3 4 10 39 58
2019-08-30	17	1st	3 9 11 34 39
2019-07-02	15	1st	3 25 37 40 55
2019-05-10	1	1st	3 16 21 61 62
2019-05-07	15	1st	3 6 34 54 63
2019-03-15	11	1st	3 29 56 62 64
2019-02-05	27	1st	3 34 36 59 66
2018-11-02	5	1st	3 23 28 46 62
2018-10-16	14	1st	3 45 49 61 69
2018-08-28	5	1st	3 20 33 34 41
2018-08-10	17	2nd	1 3 12 22 42
2018-06-12	14	2nd	1 3 5 8 70
2018-04-24	27	1st	3 19 31 32 48
2018-01-19	1	1st	3 17 23 49 66
2018-01-16	16	1st	3 11 23 29 59
2017-11-21	1	1st	3 7 22 27 50
2017-11-17	—	1st	3 26 55 58 70