Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (19, 20, 25, 39) with the draw of 20 December 2010 — its closest relative in 777 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 14% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (28 May 2012): nothing carried over. Chance says 48% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 145 — the 90th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 110. Side-by-side numbers: 19–20. 40% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

20 had not appeared for 23 draws. A number waits about 9 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 5% of the jackpot.

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