New York Lotto last-digit statistics: how are the final digits distributed?
Last digit = the final digit of a number (7, 17, 27 … have the last digit 7). A popular strategy says the winning numbers should have as many different last digits as possible. Here are the figures.
Frequency of each last digit
| Last digit | Observed | Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1378 | 1,332.7 | |
| 1 | 1641 | 1,599.3 | |
| 2 | 1590 | 1,599.3 | |
| 3 | 1603 | 1,599.3 | |
| 4 | 1602 | 1,599.3 | |
| 5 | 1637 | 1,599.3 | |
| 6 | 1537 | 1,599.3 | |
| 7 | 1608 | 1,599.3 | |
| 8 | 1578 | 1,599.3 | |
| 9 | 1552 | 1,599.3 |
How many different last digits does a draw have?
| Observed | Share | Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 different | 530 | 20.2 % | 19.5 % |
| 5 different | 1288 | 49.1 % | 48.8 % |
| 4 different | 697 | 26.6 % | 27.7 % |
| 3 different | 103 | 3.9 % | 3.8 % |
| 2 different | 3 | 0.1 % | 0.1 % |
Line with different last digits
Expected values are exact or simulated, assuming purely random draws. The draws follow chance exactly, and a last-digit rule does not change your chance of winning.