Friday, 2 November 2012

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (1, 21, 34, 35) with the draw of 20 May 2011 — its closest relative in 803 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 23% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (1 November 2012): 34 carried over. Chance says 53% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 99 — the 52th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 98. Side-by-side numbers: 34–35. 45% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

21 had not appeared for 17 draws. A number waits about 8 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 0.7× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 2% of the jackpot.

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