Thursday, 2 October 2014

Its nearest twin

Shares 3 of 5 numbers (28, 32, 34) with the draw of 14 August 2014 — its closest relative in 701 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 100% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (30 September 2014): 22 carried over. Chance says 56% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 149 — the 100th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 90. Side-by-side numbers: 32–33, 33–34. 48% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

33 had not appeared for 28 draws. A number waits about 7 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 0.3× as often as an average ticket — less popular than most. At 30 million tickets sold, a winner on these numbers would keep about 3% of the jackpot.

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