In Powerball under the 5/53 + 1/42 · Oct 2002 – Aug 2005 rules — 302 draws, 5 from 1–53 (an earlier era).
37times drawn · chance expected 28 +1.68σ
1draws waiting · a wait this long: >99% for any number
8.3average wait between appearances · chance says 10.6
34longest completed wait · 75% chance of one at least that long
9 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 37 times in 302 draws against 28.5 expected, +1.68σ. Each draw is independent: after 1 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
9
Number 9, draw by draw
Drawn 37 times in 302 draws · average wait 8.3 draws · longest completed wait 34 · waiting 1 draws now
a completed wait — darker is longer the wait still running — a lower bound, not a finished gap
Where it lands in a sorted draw
Sort a draw and 9 has a favourite seat — chance gives a small number the low positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.
Never drawn alongside 3 of the other 52 numbers; chance expects about 3 such strangers by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 9 is picked about 1.48× as often as an indifferent choice — 2nd most popular of 53. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.
Nothing here predicts the next draw. A number’s history is a record of a fair machine’s past, and the machine keeps none of it: 9 is drawn with probability 5/53 tonight whatever it did last week.