Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (22, 26, 35) with the draw of 14 August 2010 — its closest relative in 78 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 60% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (1 January 2011): 26, 35 carried over. Chance says 54% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 132 — the 95th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 95. Side-by-side numbers: 35–36. 46% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

13 had not appeared for 27 draws. A number waits about 7 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 0.4× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 4% of the jackpot.

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