I spent way too long looking at Powerball winner counts since 2015 and found something I didn't expect
Hey everyone,
I play Powerball now and then, always the same numbers (birthdays, I know). I got curious and went through the winner counts Powerball publishes after every draw, back to October 2015.
The odds are the same for every line, but the number of winners isn't random. It depends on which numbers come out:
July 10, 2024 (07 11 12 27 46, PB 26): about twice the usual number of winners.
May 23, 2018 (20 54 56 61 64, PB 07): about 30% fewer than usual.
So many of us play dates that 1 to 31 ends up on far more tickets. Even the record $1.586 billion jackpot in 2016 was split three ways, with four of the five white balls at 31 or lower.
None of this helps anyone win more often. It only changes how many people you'd share with.
I built a small free tool from it: type in your line and see how popular it is with other players. No account needed: wisenum.com
I'd love your honest feedback. Does the result make sense for your numbers? Anything confusing or missing? Be as harsh as you like.