SA lottery - nobbled?

[classic33]

Here's a challenge: predict how many times this factoid will be posted on this thread.

Seven times, on ten pages.

 

[Archie_tect]

Is the answer Mornington Crescent yet?

 

[Tail End Charlie]

42?

 

[newfhouse]

Is the answer Mornington Crescent yet?

No, we‘ve been playing the Southern Hemisphere variation since Jo’burg. Keep up.

 

[matticus]

Does anyone know how many 6-ball national lotteries have been drawn, globally? (since whenever this modern craze started)

/semi-serious post

 

[ColinJ]

Does anyone know how many 6-ball national lotteries have been drawn, globally? (since whenever this modern craze started)

/semi-serious post

I was thinking along those lines too!

Maybe there are hundreds of them which have each run a thousand times or so? In that case you could be talking about low millions of draws. The chance of a particular draw once in all of that time would be reduced from billions-to-one to maybe tens-or-hundreds-of-thousands-to one?

Then you would have to look at the question "What IS an odd-looking draw?" There are clearly quite a lot of possibilities, which reduces the odds further...

Consecutive rising numbers separated by 1... 1-6, 2-7... 15-20. 15 sets.
Consecutive falling numbers separated by 1... 20-15, 19-14... 6-1. 15 sets.
Consecutive rising numbers separated by 2... 1-11, 2-12... 10-20. 10 sets.
Consecutive falling numbers separated by 2... 20-10, 19-9... 11-1. 10 sets.

And so on. I reckon you could come up with a hundred or so sets of numbers which people would find odd. Now we are perhaps talking of hundreds-or-thousands-to-one - still unlikely, but no longer astoundingly unlikely!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

There are more than 20 numbers in the lottery

 

[ColinJ]

There are more than 20 numbers in the lottery

Oops again... Thanks, I was thinking of the SA PowerBall, which itself only goes to 20, but the others go to 50!

That obviously increases the chance of odd-looking sequences even further!

I'll edit that post...

 

[ColinJ]

No, hang on... The sequences I was thinking of have to be limited to 20 otherwise the powerball would be treated separately.

That is you could have e.g. 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 but then you'd have to include a non-consecutive powerball, 17 say. To get the run of 6 you WOULD have to stick to a limit of 20!

 

[classic33]

Oops again... Thanks, I was thinking of the SA PowerBall, which itself only goes to 20, but the others go to 50!

That obviously increases the chance of odd-looking sequences even further!

I'll edit that post...

There's 59 in the UK Lottery

 

[ColinJ]

There's 59 in the UK Lottery

I knew that somebody would start quoting numbers from other lotteries!

The principle holds though... 'impossible-looking' lottery number sequences start to look a lot less impossible when you have hundreds of lotteries, drawn thousands of times, and hundreds of potentially 'odd-looking' sequences.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Just heard tomorrow night's Euro Millions jackpot is £175,000,000.

What the feck would anyone want all that money for?!🤔

Mind you,if i bought a ticket and won i'd buy Accrington Stanley for starters!🧐

 

[newfhouse]

Just heard tomorrow night's Euro Millions jackpot is £175,000,000.

What the feck would anyone want all that money for?!🤔

Mind you,if i bought a ticket and won i'd buy Accrington Stanley for starters!🧐

What would you do with the other £174,999,900?

 

[Accy cyclist]

What would you do with the other £174,999,900?

Then my next multi millions purchase would be 'Beckingham Palace'!🧐

https://www.heart.co.uk/photos/beckingham-palace/

 

[newfhouse]

Then my next multi millions purchase would be 'Beckingham Palace'!🧐

https://www.heart.co.uk/photos/beckingham-palace/

You’d hate it. Too far south, isn’t it?