Sunday, 6 January 2013

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (31, 32, 34) with the draw of 11 September 2012 — its closest relative in 995 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (5 January 2013): nothing carried over. Chance says 51% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 109 — the 59th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 103. Side-by-side numbers: 31–32. 43% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

31 had not appeared for 29 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 0.8× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 3% of the jackpot.

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