Happy New Year, everyone! Last year was a year like no other, and it’d be hard to find anyone who misses 2020. May 2021 be a year that’s kinder to us all.

Whether we wanted to or not, many of us rang in 2021 at home. Even without the gigantic parties, firework shows, whether on the block or on TV, more than made up for that (and they were free!). Speaking of fireworks, Mega Millions had a big display of its own. Since September, the jackpot has managed to escape the grasp of the players and on New Year’s Day 2021, the beastly jackpot became even beastlier.

As fate would have it, all the players came up short when it came to picking the six winning numbers. Thus, the beast grew once again, reaching $432 million.

General Lottery Analysis

Part of that beastliness was fueled by a {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern encore. With winning numbers 8, 24, 53, 68, 69 and MB 7, this Pattern made its 280^th appearance.

There have now been 633 Mega Millions drawings, and this Pattern has played 44.2% of the time. Recall that the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern played December 29, 2020.

The [1-1-1-2-1] General Order, now with 64 appearances, has played in 22.9% of the 280 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern. Once all 633 drawings have been taken into consideration, this General Order has played 10.1% of the time. Prior to Friday night, the [1-1-1-2-1] General Order played December 1, 2020.

Now with six appearances, the 1 1 0 1 2 1 Specific Order has played in 9.375% of the 64 drawings where the General Order was [1-1-1-2-1]. This Specific Order has also played in 2.14% of the 280 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern and in 0.95% of all 633 drawings. The 1 1 0 1 2 1 Specific Order was last seen March 31, 2020.

Three-Number Combinations

Repeating Three-Number Combination 8, 24 and MB 7 debuted July 22, 2016.

As the jackpot continues to climb, one question remains: Just how high will it get before its inevitable take down?

Special thanks to guest blogger Romulun Harris for filling in Sunday!

At long last, 2020 is over. One of the most trying, if not bizarre years in modern human history will soon be in the rear-view mirror. There is one aspect of 2020 we still must contend with, and that’s the Mega Millions jackpot.

Over the past three months, we’ve watched it grow from a $20 million hatchling to a monstrous size. The beast will still be with us as we ring in 2021. Since none of the players matched all six numbers, the jackpot now stands at $401 million.

General Lottery Analysis

The December 29, 2020 Mega Millions drawing saw the 279^th appearance of the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern. The winning numbers were 1, 31, 35, 48, 62 and MB 19.

There have now been 632 Mega Millions drawings, and this Pattern has played 44.1% of the time.

The [1-2-1-1-1] General Order, now with 65 appearances, has played in 23.3% of the 279 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern. Once all 632 drawings have been taken into consideration, this General Order has played 10.3% of the time.

Prior to Tuesday night, both the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern and the [1-2-1-1-1] General Order played December 18, 2020.

Now with 13 appearances, the 1 0 2 1 1 1 Specific Order has played in 20% of the 65 drawings where the General Order was [1-2-1-1-1]. This Specific Order has also played in 4.66% of the 279 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern and in 2.06% of all 632 drawings. The 1 0 2 1 1 1 Specific Order was last seen July 24, 2020.

Three-Number Combinations

Repeating Three-Number Combination 31, 62 and MB 19 debuted January 31, 2020.

Will a New Year’s Day surprise come in the form of someone taking down the jackpot beast, or will its growth continue well into January?

As Christmas draws closer, the excitement climbs higher. Finals are over, the kids are out of school, and there’s PTO that needs to be used!

Mega Millions had the honor of kicking off Christmas break like it does every year. What made December 18, 2020 memorable was how this lottery has a jackpot in crazy rich territory. Thanks to the help of four repeating Three-Number Combinations, the jackpot remained firmly in the stratosphere. With no one picking the six winning numbers, the jackpot climbed to $330 million.

General Lottery Analysis

With winning numbers 7, 15, 25, 51, 60 and MB 5, the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern made its 278^th appearance.

There have now been 629 Mega Million drawings, and this Pattern has played 44.2% of the time.

The [1-2-1-1-1] General Order, now with 64 appearances, has played in 23% of the 278 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern. Once all 629 drawings have been taken into consideration, this General Order has played 10.2% of the time.

Prior to Friday night, both the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern and the [1-2-1-1-1] General Order played December 11, 2020.

Now with 14 appearances, the 1 2 0 1 1 1 Specific Order has played in 21.875% of the 64 drawings where the General Order was [1-2-1-1-1]. This Specific Order has also played in 5.04% of the 278 drawings where {2-1-1-1-1} was the winning Pattern and in 2.23% of all 629 drawings. We last saw the 1 2 0 1 1 1 Specific Order March 27, 2020.

Three-Number Combinations

These members made up the repeating Four-Number Combination quartet:

• 15, 25, 51 (Debuted Christmas 2015)
• 25, 51, MB 5 (Debuted December 15, 2015)
• 7, 51, MB 5 (Debuted August 13, 2019)
• 7, 25, 51 (Debuted February 2, 2016)

We’ve found ourselves in an interesting situation here. Mega Millions just saw its most commonly played Pattern and the jackpot is close to one-third of a billion dollars! It remains to be seen if Christmas week sees the {2-1-1-1-1} Pattern try to establish a streak, or the monster prize being claimed. Wouldn’t it be something if these forces combined?