In Mega Millions under the 5/50 + 1/25 · Sep 1996 – Jan 1999 rules — 172 draws, 5 from 1–50 (an earlier era).
14times drawn · chance expected 17 −0.81σ
0draws waiting — it came up last time
13.1average wait between appearances · chance says 10.0
45longest completed wait · 12% chance of one at least that long
9 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 14 times in 172 draws against 17.2 expected, −0.81σ. Each draw is independent: after 0 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
9
Number 9, draw by draw
Drawn 14 times in 172 draws · average wait 13.1 draws · longest completed wait 45 · drawn in the most recent draw
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 9 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 13 of the other 49 numbers; chance expects about 16 such strangers by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 9 is picked about 1.48× as often as an indifferent choice — 2nd most popular of 50. 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: 9 is drawn with probability 5/50 tonight whatever it did last week.