Tuesday, 27 February 2018

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (15, 22, 23, 24) with the draw of 31 March 2017 — its closest relative in 2,870 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 70% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (26 February 2018): 15, 22 carried over. Chance says 55% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 94 — the 52th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 93. Side-by-side numbers: 22–23, 23–24. 47% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

23 had not appeared for 4 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 1.6× as often as an average ticket — more popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 1% of the jackpot.

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