In Mega Millions under the 5/50 + 1/25 · Sep 1996 – Jan 1999 rules — 172 draws, 1 from 1–25 (an earlier era).
5times drawn · chance expected 7 −0.73σ
80draws waiting · a wait this long: 4% for any number
17.8average wait between appearances · chance says 25.0
36longest completed wait · 67% chance of one at least that long
7 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 5 times in 172 draws against 6.9 expected, −0.73σ. Each draw is independent: after 80 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
7
Number 7, draw by draw
Drawn 5 times in 172 draws · average wait 17.8 draws · longest completed wait 36 · waiting 80 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 7 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.
Never drawn alongside 24 of the other 24 numbers; chance expects about 24 such strangers by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 7 is picked about 1.54× as often as an indifferent choice — 1st most popular of 25. 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: 7 is drawn with probability 1/25 tonight whatever it did last week.