In Mega Millions under the 5/75 + 1/15 · Oct 2013 – Oct 2017 rules — 420 draws, 5 from 1–75 (an earlier era).
28times drawn · chance expected 28 +0.00σ
29draws waiting · a wait this long: 14% for any number
13.9average wait between appearances · chance says 15.0
51longest completed wait · 58% chance of one at least that long
8 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 28 times in 420 draws against 28.0 expected, +0.00σ. Each draw is independent: after 29 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
8
Number 8, draw by draw
Drawn 28 times in 420 draws · average wait 13.9 draws · longest completed wait 51 · waiting 29 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 8 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 16 of the other 74 numbers; chance expects about 16 such strangers by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 8 is picked about 1.48× as often as an indifferent choice — 2nd most popular of 75. 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: 8 is drawn with probability 5/75 tonight whatever it did last week.