Reference

How the figures on this site are computed

Every odds table is a combination count from the published ball matrix. Every frequency, dry spell and shape statistic is counted from the drawing record of the current matrix only. If a number cannot be reproduced from those two inputs, it does not appear.

Last updated: August 24, 2026.

1. Odds

Jackpot odds are C(N, 5) × B, where N is the white-ball pool and B the bonus pool. Partial-match tiers use

C(5, m) × C(N−5, 5−m) / C(N, 5) × (1/B or (B−1)/B)

The resulting tables match the official Mega Millions and Powerball prize charts: jackpot 1 in 290,472,336 and 1 in 292,201,338; any prize 1 in 23.07 and 1 in 24.87.

2. Drawing data

Results come from the New York State Open Data portal, which republishes official multi-state drawings. The bundled snapshot currently runs through August 21, 2026 (Mega Millions) and August 22, 2026 (Powerball). The “Fetch latest results” button on each dashboard talks to that portal directly. Feeds can lag or contain errors; this site is not an official record.

Game	Drawings used	First drawing	Why that start date
Mega Millions	920	October 31, 2017	White balls became 1–70; earlier pools were 75, 56, 52…
Powerball	1,392	October 7, 2015	Current 5/69 + 1/26 matrix; earlier white balls stopped at 59

3. The April 2025 Mega Ball change

On April 8, 2025 the Mega Ball pool shrank from 25 to 24. White-ball statistics still use the full 5/70 history. Generated Mega Balls are never above 24. A separate “Current rules only” window starts at that date.

4. Tests we publish

A chi-square goodness-of-fit test compares each ball's count with the uniform expectation (65.7 Mega Millions appearances per ball, 100.9 Powerball). Current p-values are 0.76 and 0.19 — consistent with a fair game. Monte Carlo simulations of the same length produce “hot” and “cold” extremes as large as the real record. Details: hot and cold numbers tested.

5. What the generator is

An optional way to sample combinations that look like historical winners (frequency, dry spells, sum, odd/even, low/high). It does not change anyone's odds. The “pure random” preset is uniform; our test suite checks that with a chi-square test.

6. Corrections

If a figure is wrong, email contact@lotterynumberlab.com with a source. We will check it against the matrix or the drawing file and correct the page, with the date above updated. We do not silently rewrite history to match a press release; if an official chart and the combination formula disagree, the formula wins and we say so.

Sources

Figures on this page are computed from the published game rules and the drawing record. These are the documents they are checked against — see our methodology and corrections policy for how that is done.