Sunday, 9 January 2011

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (18, 22, 34) with the draw of 8 December 2010 — its closest relative in 276 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 92% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (8 January 2011): 35 carried over. Chance says 51% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 142 — the 94th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 103. Side-by-side numbers: 33–34, 34–35. 43% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

34 had not appeared for 25 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 0.4× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 5% of the jackpot.

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