Tuesday, 20 December 2016

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 5 numbers (2, 4, 8, 15) with the draw of 8 September 2010 — its closest relative in 2,439 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 88% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (19 December 2016): nothing carried over. Chance says 63% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 53 — the 8th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 78. No two numbers side by side. 54% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

8 had not appeared for 21 draws. A number waits about 6 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 0% of the jackpot.

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