Hottest and Coldest Mega Millions Numbers of 2019
Saturday January 11th 2020What are the Mega Millions numbers to watch in 2020? Take a look back at key Mega Millions statistics from 2019 to discover the hottest, coldest, and most overdue numbers to inspire your picks this year.
Hottest Mega Millions Numbers
Hot numbers have been drawn more often than other numbers recently. 105 Mega Millions draws took place in 2019, and 525 main numbers were drawn. The main numbers are the white balls, which can be any numbers from 1-70.
The most popular number was 48, which was drawn 17 times.
Number 24 was just edged out of the top spot - it was drawn 16 times.
Third place was a tie, with 34 and 62 each drawn 14 times.
Fourth and fifth most-drawn were also ties, as you can see in the table below:
| Number | 48 | 24 | 34 | 62 | 43 | 14 | 31 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 11 |
| Times Drawn | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
The most common Mega Ball number (gold ball) in 2019 was 10, which was drawn eight times. The Mega Ball may be any number between 1 and 25.
In the "power couple" category, we're not talking about celebrities - Mega Millions hot pairs are numbers that have been draw together most often. In 2019, 14 and 24 went together like peanut butter and jelly - they showed up in the same draw five times, more than any other pair.
Coldest Mega Millions Numbers
According to the theory of hot and cold numbers, you'll also want to include some cold numbers in your plays. They're not the popular kids right now, but their luck just might be about to change and make them the new hot picks this year.
In first (or maybe that should be last) place, it's a tie for the least-drawn number: 1, 51 and 69 were each drawn only twice in 2019.
Only slightly more popular were 28, 32, 41 and 45, which were drawn three times each.
And the following numbers were drawn a measly four times each: 2, 13, 21, 36 and 52.
| Number | 1 | 51 | 69 | 28 | 32 | 41 | 45 | 2 | 13 | 21 | 36 | 52 |
| Times Drawn | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
The least-common Mega Ball number last year was 8 - it was drawn just a single time!
However, some of these unpopular numbers seem to be staging a comeback in 2020. 51 was drawn on January 10, 52 appeared on January 7, and 41 powered into two draws on January 3 and January 7.
Meanwhile, 2 and 21 haven't been drawn as main numbers yet, but they appeared as Mega Ball numbers on January 10 and January 7 respectively. Stay tuned!
Most Overdue Mega Millions Numbers
Overdue numbers have gone a loooong time without being drawn. And the winner - or loser - here is number 32. It was drawn way back on May 17 and (*crickets*) hasn't been seen since.
According to the theory, 32 is overdue some wins. Keep an eye on the Mega Millions results to see if 32 turns its luck around this year!
Megaplier Frequency
The Megaplier is a number from 2 to 5 that's randomly selected in every Mega Millions drawing and multiplies non-jackpot prizes. Players can add the Megaplier for an extra $1.00. Any prize below the jackpot is then multiplied by the Megaplier number. For instance, a 5X Megaplier would turn a second tier $1 million Match 5 win into $5 million!
Here are the number of times each Megaplier number was drawn in 2019, from most to least. The Frequency column shows how many draws it took for the number to come up. For example, the 2X Megaplier appeared once every 2.23 draws. The right hand column shows the odds of that Megaplier being chosen in any given draw.
| Megaplier | Times Drawn | Frequency | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2X | 47 | 2.23 | 1 in 3 |
| 3X | 37 | 2.84 | 1 in 2.5 |
| 4X | 16 | 6.56 | 1 in 5 |
| 5X | 5 | 21 | 1 in 15 |
2019 Jackpot Wins
The Mega Millions jackpot was won seven times in 2019. Seven is in itself the world's favorite number - it is considered lucky by many people and cultures around the world.
Here are all of last year's jackpot hits:
- January 1: $437 million was won in New York. The main numbers were 34, 44, 57, 62 and 70, and the Mega Ball was 14
- March 1: a $273 million prize was won in New Jersey. The main numbers were 29, 33, 39, 60 and 66, and the Mega Ball was 21
- March 12: a $50 million jackpot was won in Missouri. The main numbers were 10, 12, 16, 49 and 57, and the Mega Ball was 18
- June 7: a $522 million prize was won in California. The main numbers were 17, 19, 27, 40 and 68 and the Mega Ball was 2
- July 23: $168 million was won in New Hampshire. The main numbers were 1, 4, 23, 40 and 45, and the Mega Ball was 11
- September 24: $225 million was won in Texas (revised down from the estimated $227 million). The main numbers were 6, 14, 24, 42 and 46, and the Mega Ball was 9
- December 17: a $375 million jackpot was won in Ohio. The main numbers were 22, 30, 53, 55 and 56, and the Mega Ball was 16
Did any numbers appear more often than others? Yes:
- 14 appeared once as the Mega Ball number on January 1 and once as a main number on September 24
- 40 was drawn twice, on June 7 and July 23
- 57 was also hit twice, on January 1 and March 12
Some of the hottest, most popular numbers also showed up in jackpot wins:
- 4 was drawn on July 23
- 11 was the Mega Ball number on July 23
- 14 appeared once as the Mega Ball number on January 1 and once as a main number on September 24
- 17 was drawn on June 7
- 24 was drawn on September 24
- 34 and 62 were drawn on January 1
Some of the coldest, least-drawn numbers also - more surprisingly - showed up in jackpot hits:
- 1 was drawn on July 23
- 2 was the Mega Ball number on June 7
- 45 appeared on July 23
Why Are Some Numbers Popular or Unpopular?
Every Mega Millions draw is completely random, so any number is as likely to be drawn as any other number. In other words, each number has an equal chance of winning. Each draw is a "clean slate" and the results of past drawings have no bearing on future ones.
Probability tells us that each number should appear the same number of times. However, it takes a very long time for this to happen - thousands and thousands of draws. So, some numbers will appear to be hot and "on a roll", and others will go cold and drop out of sight. But ultimately, all of this evens out over the long term.
How often a number has been drawn also depends on changes to game rules. In October 2017, Mega Millions introduced changes that included dropping the main numbers available from 75 to 70, and increasing the Mega Ball pool from 15 to 25.
The bottom line is that you are just as likely to win by using a number generator as you are by choosing your own "lucky numbers."
You can also use the fact that other players believe in lucky numbers to your advantage by avoiding numbers that are more often chosen by others. This doesn't make you any more likely to win, but it can increase the chances that you keep the prize all to yourself!
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