In PowerBall under the 5/50 + 1/20 · since Jun 2018 rules — 869 draws, 1 from 1–20.
57times drawn · chance expected 43 +2.11σ
51draws waiting · a wait this long: 8% for any number
14.4average wait between appearances · chance says 20.0
58longest completed wait · 95% chance of one at least that long
2 is drawn as often as chance explains
Drawn 57 times in 869 draws against 43.5 expected, +2.11σ. Each draw is independent: after 51 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.
2
Number 2, draw by draw
Drawn 57 times in 869 draws · average wait 14.4 draws · longest completed wait 58 · waiting 51 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 2 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 19 of the other 19 numbers; chance expects about 19 such strangers by now. Every pair →
How many people play it
Under the crowd model, 2 is picked about 1.34× as often as an indifferent choice — 6th most popular of 20. 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: 2 is drawn with probability 1/20 tonight whatever it did last week.