Friday, 23 September 2011

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (18, 26, 27) with the draw of 19 September 2011 — its closest relative in 532 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (22 September 2011): 26 carried over. Chance says 61% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 110 — the 94th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 80. Side-by-side numbers: 17–18, 26–27. 52% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

18 had not appeared for 4 draws. A number waits about 6 on average, and a wait this long was not a signal — the machine has no memory of it.

How many people held it

A line like this is played about 1.1× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 1% of the jackpot.

Illustrative model, calibrated to published studies — not live sales.