Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (17, 28, 42) with the draw of 30 June 2015 — its closest relative in 2,113 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (26 January 2016): nothing carried over. Chance says 48% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 131 — the 78th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 110. Side-by-side numbers: 17–18. 40% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

42 had not appeared for 12 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 0.9× as often as an average ticket — about as popular as most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 4% of the jackpot.

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