Number 3

In Megabucks Plus under the 5/41 + 1/6 · since Apr 2010 rules — 1,888 draws, 5 from 1–41.

247times drawn · chance expected 230 +1.18σ

4draws waiting · a wait this long: 68% for any number

7.7average wait between appearances · chance says 8.2

35longest completed wait · 95% chance of one at least that long

3 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 247 times in 1,888 draws against 230.2 expected, +1.18σ. Each draw is independent: after 4 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 3, draw by draw

Drawn 247 times in 1,888 draws · average wait 7.7 draws · longest completed wait 35 · waiting 4 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 3 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest199 · chance 199.5
2nd smallest46 · chance 45.6
3rd smallest2 · chance 1.9
4th smallest0 · chance 0.0
5th smallest0 · chance 0.0

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 24.7 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

17 9 13 8 16 21

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 40 numbers; chance expected about 0.0 still unmet by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 3 is picked about 1.48× as often as an indifferent choice — 2nd most popular of 41. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.

Numbers 1–31 — the birthday zone ×1.22
Numbers 1–12 — day and month overlap ×1.10
Culturally lucky numbers 3, 8, 9 ×1.10

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 3 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2026-10-12	2	1st	3 6 17 25 32
2026-10-07	2	2nd	2 3 6 21 23
2026-10-03	12	1st	3 6 7 8 12
2026-09-05	11	1st	3 11 15

What this cannot tell you

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: 3 is drawn with probability 5/41 tonight whatever it did last week.

2025-08-20	10	2nd	2 3 11 14 38
2025-07-28	2	1st	3 4 5 17 34
2025-07-23	24	1st	3 4 16 25 31
2025-05-28	8	1st	3 19 27 30 36
2025-05-10	20	1st	3 5 11 18 31
2025-03-24	6	2nd	2 3 4 8 19
2025-03-10	2	1st	3 16 24 35 41
2025-03-05	11	2nd	1 3 18 30 40
2025-02-08	5	1st	3 16 24 25 31
2025-01-27	19	1st	3 30 31 34 39
2024-12-14	4	1st	3 7 14 26 37
2024-12-04	7	1st	3 5 21 28 37
2024-11-18	1	1st	3 12 16 24 25
2024-11-16	3	1st	3 10 17 23 25
2024-11-09	1	1st	3 11 15 28 29
2024-11-06	20	1st	3 8 11 13 31
2024-09-21	1	1st	3 26 31 33 39
2024-09-18	23	2nd	1 3 6 18 23
2024-07-27	2	1st	3 24 26 29 30
2024-07-22	1	2nd	2 3 15 17 22
2024-07-20	19	1st	3 6 7 30 37
2024-06-05	11	1st	3 8 10 13 27
2024-05-11	6	1st	3 7 15 27 37
2024-04-27	3	1st	3 8 13 29 37
2024-04-20	2	1st	3 9 17 18 27
2024-04-15	3	1st	3 11 28 35 39
2024-04-08	5	1st	3 5 6 11 37
2024-03-27	6	1st	3 13 14 28 39
2024-03-13	11	1st	3 5 11 18 29
2024-02-17	1	1st	3 8 26 31 40
2024-02-14	8	2nd	2 3 7 9 17
2024-01-27	2	2nd	1 3 4 22 24
2024-01-22	17	1st	3 9 21 24 37
2023-12-13	1	1st	3 4 12 17 28
2023-12-11	26	1st	3 7 17 20 21
2023-10-11	5	1st	3 4 12 20 34
2023-09-30	1	1st	3 9 28 35 38
2023-09-27	3	2nd	2 3 7 14 32
2023-09-20	27	3rd	1 2 3 26 28
2023-06-21	2	1st	3 9 16 18 25
2023-06-14	2	1st	3 4 13 16 35
2023-06-07	4	1st	3 5 9 20 31
2023-05-24	3	2nd	2 3 4 12 25
2023-05-13	3	1st	3 5 15 31 38
2023-05-03	5	1st	3 9 24 30 38
2023-04-15	23	1st	3 14 16 18 36
2023-01-25	6	1st	3 12 20 29 36
2023-01-04	6	2nd	2 3 9 26 31
2022-12-14	3	1st	3 6 15 16 20
2022-12-03	5	1st	3 15 28 31 33
2022-11-16	1	1st	3 27 30 32 33
2022-11-12	5	1st	3 10 32 39 41
2022-10-26	2	1st	3 9 18 31 39
2022-10-19	1	1st	3 7 22 31 40
2022-10-15	20	1st	3 9 13 21 27
2022-08-06	1	2nd	1 3 16 30 38
2022-08-03	1	1st	3 4 7 25 35
2022-07-30	27	2nd	1 3 4 30 38
2022-04-27	13	1st	3 16 19 21 38
2022-03-12	16	1st	3 8 13 33 38
2022-01-15	1	1st	3 10 11 12 26
2022-01-12	10	1st	3 18 26 36 41
2021-12-08	1	1st	3 9 11 21 33
2021-12-04	4	1st	3 7 18 19 33
2021-11-20	10	1st	3 8 11 20 38
2021-10-16	13	1st	3 14 19 21 41
2021-09-01	13	1st	3 7 19 36 41
2021-07-17	19	1st	3 4 9 10 14
2021-05-12	14	1st	3 7 15 34 38
2021-03-24	12	1st	3 9 24 29 39
2021-02-10	27	1st	3 21 23 32 39
2020-11-07	1	1st	3 13 17 22 23
2020-11-04	13	1st	3 13 22 27 35
2020-09-19	4	1st	3 10 21 33 41
2020-09-05	1	2nd	1 3 7 18 39
2020-09-02	4	1st	3 15 16 21 33
2020-08-19	12	1st	3 4 25 33 38
2020-07-08	6	1st	3 8 25 28 36
2020-06-17	6	1st	3 8 9 22 35
2020-05-27	5	1st	3 17 23 35 41
2020-05-09	3	2nd	1 3 4 9 24
2020-04-29	4	1st	3 12 22 34 36
2020-04-15	21	2nd	1 3 7 28 38
2020-02-01	4	2nd	2 3 12 36 40
2020-01-18	23	1st	3 19 25 29 41
2019-10-30	2	1st	3 8 10 21 28
2019-10-23	2	1st	3 12 23 24 29
2019-10-16	4	1st	3 21 26 33 35
2019-10-02	7	1st	3 9 11 27 35
2019-09-07	1	2nd	1 3 17 19 40
2019-09-04	10	1st	3 28 31 33 40
2019-07-31	7	1st	3 14 29 30 33
2019-07-06	23	1st	3 6 17 26 32
2019-04-17	2	1st	3 6 20 31 32
2019-04-10	1	1st	3 5 9 21 28
2019-04-06	1	1st	3 5 8 21 28
2019-04-03	12	1st	3 4 24 28 38
2019-02-20	2	1st	3 7 8 12 41
2019-02-13	1	1st	3 15 24 26 32
2019-02-09	3	1st	3 4 8 20 27
2019-01-30	3	1st	3 11 23 27 37
2019-01-19	2	1st	3 11 12 25 39
2019-01-12	2	1st	3 4 32 36 38
2019-01-05	4	1st	3 4 14 17 39
2018-12-22	4	2nd	2 3 10 23 40
2018-12-08	1	2nd	1 3 10 22 33
2018-12-05	4	2nd	1 3 20 30 36
2018-11-21	10	1st	3 7 16 18 25
2018-10-17	1	1st	3 14 16 19 34
2018-10-13	3	1st	3 17 21 26 39
2018-10-03	2	2nd	1 3 13 16 26
2018-09-26	24	1st	3 4 10 20 36
2018-07-04	14	1st	3 24 32 34 35
2018-05-16	1	1st	3 18 20 25 31
2018-05-12	10	1st	3 6 13 33 37
2018-04-07	11	1st	3 23 26 27 29
2018-02-28	10	1st	3 4 18 30 39
2018-01-24	18	2nd	1 3 17 35 41
2017-11-22	7	2nd	2 3 13 32 34
2017-10-28	5	1st	3 4 15 22 40
2017-10-11	9	1st	3 12 30 33 39
2017-09-09	10	1st	3 8 13 16 25
2017-08-05	6	2nd	2 3 10 28 37
2017-07-15	12	1st	3 10 13 36 37
2017-06-03	5	1st	3 6 12 15 37
2017-05-17	2	1st	3 4 12 15 41
2017-05-10	6	1st	3 8 9 16 37
2017-04-19	6	1st	3 9 17 35 38
2017-03-29	6	1st	3 4 21 24 40
2017-03-08	2	2nd	1 3 8 26 33
2017-03-01	6	1st	3 6 20 26 34
2017-02-08	11	1st	3 23 25 32 33
2016-12-31	1	1st	3 4 7 9 37
2016-12-28	2	2nd	1 3 17 19 29
2016-12-21	13	1st	3 6 9 22 34
2016-11-05	19	1st	3 8 21 29 38
2016-08-31	8	1st	3 16 21 25 26
2016-08-03	5	1st	3 9 20 30 33
2016-07-16	2	2nd	1 3 8 33 41
2016-07-09	6	1st	3 10 31 36 38
2016-06-18	13	2nd	2 3 13 15 20
2016-05-04	3	1st	3 19 36 39 41
2016-04-23	5	1st	3 6 12 35 39
2016-04-06	1	2nd	2 3 8 16 18
2016-04-02	13	1st	3 19 36 37 40
2016-02-17	2	1st	3 4 11 13 17
2016-02-10	1	1st	3 7 26 31 41
2016-02-06	15	1st	3 8 17 22 23
2015-12-16	2	1st	3 15 16 25 41
2015-12-09	1	2nd	1 3 7 12 37
2015-12-05	6	1st	3 7 10 35 41
2015-11-14	1	1st	3 17 22 28 38
2015-11-11	15	1st	3 17 18 28 40
2015-09-19	1	1st	3 6 7 33 39
2015-09-16	3	2nd	1 3 5 15 37
2015-09-05	3	1st	3 7 9 28 35
2015-08-26	7	1st	3 6 7 22 29
2015-08-01	9	1st	3 4 5 12 17
2015-07-01	12	1st	3 9 21 35 36
2015-05-20	24	1st	3 5 8 20 26
2015-02-25	4	1st	3 13 14 32 33
2015-02-11	3	1st	3 9 22 34 38
2015-01-31	2	1st	3 5 13 18 41
2015-01-24	6	2nd	2 3 10 17 27
2015-01-03	6	1st	3 13 22 28 41
2014-12-13	18	1st	3 4 6 34 40
2014-10-11	1	1st	3 10 25 31 39
2014-10-08	5	1st	3 7 23 32 36
2014-09-20	12	2nd	2 3 5 20 26
2014-08-09	18	1st	3 12 15 24 26
2014-06-07	14	1st	3 14 15 21 40
2014-04-19	3	1st	3 5 8 19 29
2014-04-09	9	1st	3 10 24 25 38
2014-03-08	3	2nd	2 3 14 16 21
2014-02-26	1	1st	3 9 11 16 29
2014-02-22	7	1st	3 20 36 38 39
2014-01-29	1	2nd	1 3 11 17 36
2014-01-25	1	1st	3 5 28 31 34
2014-01-22	1	1st	3 9 11 19 37
2014-01-18	25	1st	3 9 10 26 36
2013-10-23	9	1st	3 13 18 24 25
2013-09-21	25	1st	3 13 19 25 41
2013-06-26	2	1st	3 11 17 32 41
2013-06-19	12	1st	3 18 19 22 31
2013-05-08	13	1st	3 20 29 38 39
2013-03-23	8	2nd	2 3 5 16 38
2013-02-23	35	2nd	2 3 11 19 32
2012-10-24	4	1st	3 8 16 23 26
2012-10-10	18	1st	3 9 13 28 31
2012-08-04	1	1st	3 6 13 19 33
2012-08-01	1	1st	3 13 24 25 28
2012-07-28	16	1st	3 16 21 30 33
2012-06-02	28	1st	3 15 22 31 39
2012-02-25	16	1st	3 13 19 21 26
2011-12-31	2	1st	3 5 6 19 30
2011-12-24	5	1st	3 6 10 20 25
2011-12-07	6	1st	3 7 11 14 16
2011-11-16	9	1st	3 8 12 16 32
2011-10-15	7	3rd	1 2 3 17 18
2011-09-21	8	1st	3 18 22 28 34
2011-08-24	15	1st	3 9 15 18 32
2011-07-02	6	1st	3 8 13 28 32
2011-06-11	4	1st	3 13 21 35 40
2011-05-28	2	1st	3 15 18 29 41
2011-05-21	9	1st	3 13 21 22 40
2011-04-20	4	1st	3 8 14 24 39
2011-04-06	7	1st	3 12 37 40 41
2011-03-12	17	1st	3 4 5 17 22
2011-01-12	11	1st	3 16 18 39 40
2010-12-04	3	1st	3 7 9 32 37
2010-11-24	3	1st	3 17 28 30 36
2010-11-13	1	1st	3 21 25 27 36
2010-11-10	7	2nd	1 3 16 21 39
2010-10-16	1	1st	3 6 17 28 29
2010-10-13	6	1st	3 13 20 27 34
2010-09-22	1	1st	3 23 24 32 39
2010-09-18	12	1st	3 9 35 37 38
2010-08-07	7	2nd	1 3 20 21 26
2010-07-14	1	1st	3 12 14 31 33
2010-07-10	9	1st	3 8 17 36 39
2010-06-09	10	2nd	1 3 13 27 32
2010-05-05	8	1st	3 17 26 28 35
2010-04-07	—	1st	3 8 16 32 37