Number 55

In Mega Millions under the 5/56 + 1/46 · Jun 2005 – Oct 2013 rules — 869 draws, 5 from 1–56 (an earlier era).

66times drawn · chance expected 78 −1.38σ

21draws waiting · a wait this long: 15% for any number

13.0average wait between appearances · chance says 11.2

55longest completed wait · 34% chance of one at least that long

55 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 66 times in 869 draws against 77.6 expected, −1.38σ. Each draw is independent: after 21 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 55, draw by draw

Drawn 66 times in 869 draws · average wait 13.0 draws · longest completed wait 55 · waiting 21 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 55 has a favourite seat — chance gives a large number the high positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest0 · chance 0.0
2nd smallest0 · chance 0.0
3rd smallest0 · chance 0.0
4th smallest4 · chance 4.8
5th smallest62 · chance 61.2

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 4.8 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

53 42 17 36 37 38

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, 55 is picked about 0.86× as often as an indifferent choice — 34th 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.

Numbers above 31 ×0.86

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 55 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2013-08-06	17	5th	1 11 16 51 55
2013-06-07	1	5th	1 10 37 48 55
2013-06-04	4	5th	10 11 12 20 55
2013-05-21	7	5th	2 15

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: 55 is drawn with probability 5/56 tonight whatever it did last week.

2010-09-14	9	4th	6 14 50 55 56
2010-08-13	16	5th	6 17 24 43 55
2010-06-18	15	5th	11 36 37 41 55
2010-04-27	32	5th	23 37 41 50 55
2010-01-05	22	5th	13 28 39 50 55
2009-10-20	5	5th	13 17 25 45 55
2009-10-02	27	5th	15 24 51 53 55
2009-06-30	10	5th	7 34 49 54 55
2009-05-26	23	5th	9 18 21 37 55
2009-03-06	4	5th	11 18 37 46 55
2009-02-20	6	5th	21 28 41 45 55
2009-01-30	16	5th	13 16 19 53 55
2008-12-05	7	5th	21 27 46 52 55
2008-11-11	2	5th	5 27 38 42 55
2008-11-04	26	5th	10 21 23 41 55
2008-08-05	5	5th	9 21 36 38 55
2008-07-18	14	5th	17 29 36 53 55
2008-05-30	8	5th	39 40 47 53 55
2008-05-02	18	5th	8 28 37 53 55
2008-02-29	1	5th	5 17 22 26 55
2008-02-26	2	5th	9 12 30 36 55
2008-02-19	11	4th	1 38 42 55 56
2008-01-11	41	5th	22 36 42 45 55
2007-08-21	4	4th	8 38 54 55 56
2007-08-07	3	4th	36 41 50 55 56
2007-07-27	24	5th	7 12 35 54 55
2007-05-04	13	5th	4 9 20 45 55
2007-03-20	37	5th	7 21 46 49 55
2006-11-10	2	5th	11 42 52 53 55
2006-11-03	10	5th	8 10 22 25 55
2006-09-29	4	5th	3 25 43 45 55
2006-09-15	4	5th	6 26 33 39 55
2006-09-01	8	5th	5 6 51 53 55
2006-08-04	26	5th	2 24 31 50 55
2006-05-05	2	5th	8 20 39 53 55
2006-04-28	27	5th	16 29 32 36 55
2006-01-24	8	5th	31 34 36 51 55
2005-12-27	18	5th	11 24 27 49 55
2005-10-25	20	5th	7 12 18 31 55
2005-08-16	6	5th	9 15 20 24 55
2005-07-26	6	5th	1 10 18 29 55
2005-07-05	—	5th	22 38 48 50 55