The Secrets of Mega Millions: Choosing Winning Numbers Wisely

Tonight's Mega Millions jackpot is worth 514 million dollars.

Before you purchase those last-minute tickets, you might want to take a few moments to review some statistics that we've found.

Something to keep in mind as you peruse the numbers is that each lottery drawing is an independent event.

That means that each number has exactly the same odds of being picked every drawing.

As long as all the numbers in the bin remain the same, each has an equal chance of being picked during each drawing.

As you look at the list below, you might point out that several numbers are clearly picked more often than others.

Why is that?  How is that possible?

It may not be the sexiest answer, but the reality is, it is pure coincidence.

So, even knowing it's a coincidence, do you choose to pick numbers that have been chosen more often?

Or do you choose numbers that haven't been drawn more often because, you know, they're due?

According to a website that tracks these things, ActionNetwork has released their ranking of the number that have been drawn the most for the Mega Millions Lottery.

These rankings include the year 2024 only.

Here are the numbers that have been drawn most often,

Rank     Number     Number of Times Drawn

1.            3                                  18

2.            22                                16

3.            5  and 19                     14

4.            23, 26 and 66              13

5.            1, 2 and 18                  12

Here are the numbers that are drawn the least

1.             32 and 38                          5

2.             36, 41, 45, 52 and 63        4

If you want to dive deeper into the world of lottery statistics, you can check out these numbers and more at a cool website called Action Network.com.