Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Its nearest twin

Shares 4 of 6 numbers (9, 20, 22, 24) with the draw of 22 July 2010 — its closest relative in 139 draws. Chance gave a match this close a 88% likelihood somewhere in that history.

From the draw just before (6 December 2010): nothing carried over. Chance says 85% of draws repeat at least one number.

Sum and shape

The numbers add up to 98 — the 89th percentile of all possible tickets, around a middle of 78. Side-by-side numbers: 19–20. 78% of draws have at least one such pair.

The longest wait in this draw

20 had not appeared for 11 draws. A number waits about 4 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 1.4× 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.