Friday, 30 May 2014

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (9, 26, 27, 28) with the draw of 27 May 2013 — its closest relative in 1,507 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 26% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (29 May 2014): nothing carried over. Chance says 48% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 94 — the 27th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 110. Side-by-side numbers: 26–27, 27–28. 40% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

27 had not appeared for 44 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 2.4× 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.