Friday, 26 October 2012

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (10, 18, 37) with the draw of 23 May 2012 — its closest relative in 926 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (25 October 2012): 4, 18 carried over. Chance says 48% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 72 — the 7th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 110. Side-by-side numbers: 3–4. 40% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

37 had not appeared for 13 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 1.4× as often as an average ticket — more popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 2% of the jackpot.

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