Have lottery numbers 1-2-3-4-5-6 ever won, even the jackpot? We checked and got a big surprise

IT'S a curious question that’s been asked a million times. Have any lottery games been won with the unlikely number combination of 1,2,3,4,5,6?

So a while back we set out to see. Our first visit was to the Lotto Texas website since they have a search engine that goes back to the game's beginnings.

The first scratch off ticket for the Texas Lottery was bought May 29, 1992 by Gov. Ann Richards at Polk's Feed Store, Oak Hill Image: Texas Lottery

Lotto Texas began sales on November 7, 1992, with the first drawing on November 14, 1992. So we assume that's the date it will look for.

We tried the link: 'Check Your Numbers Results.'

And entered our combo for “All Years.” Here’s the result:

We entered the Lotto Texas search box with our 1 2 3 4 5 6 numbers Image: Texas Lottery

What was the result? You can see for yourself. Nothing there for the full sequence, one result with 3 numbers, and most had only 2 of the numbers.

Today we looked at their number checker again and chose three games: Lotto Texas, Mega Millions and Powerball.

Lotto Texas plays the full 6 numbers on each line, whereas Mega Millions and Powerball use the 6th number as a Bonus ball. Still, we went ahead and did the test.

Here are the somewhat predictable results:

To save space we cut off the charts at 3 numbers matching out of 6. And of course only one set of numbers went above that with 4 matches.

As well as checking our numbers, the Ontario Lottery also produced winner Glen Harper, who won twice in one year Photo: OLG

In an earlier test we did the same with the number checker at Canada’s Ontario Lottery for the 649 game.

Here’s the result from back then:

Only two games had the number sequence 1, 2, 3, 4 - one of them back in 1992. And it was a similar story when we tested other number checkers - no games had ever matched our numbers.

Can we ever be optimistic that this set of numbers will help us win more?

The mathematics experts tell us that it doesn't matter what sequential combinations we use, since 1,2,3,4,5,6 is as likely to appear as 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49.

We asked GPT-4 to check our work, and it quickly woke up and started work on the project Image: Supplied

So we decided to double check one final time by asking the universe - otherwise known as GPT4.

And here’s the answer to our inquiry: Have the lottery winning numbers of 1,2,3,4,5,6 ever been drawn?

GPT4: “As of my last training cut-off in January 2022, the sequence of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 has never been drawn in any of the major lotteries around the world, such as the Powerball or Mega Millions in the U.S., or the EuroMillions in Europe. It's worth noting that while the sequence seems improbable, it has the same mathematical odds of being drawn as any other specific sequence of numbers. However, due to its simplicity and the fact that many people play this sequence, a jackpot with these numbers might result in more winners and, hence, smaller prize shares. Always ensure to check the latest draws or official sources for the most recent information.”

That hasn’t stopped a lot of players using this combination though. In a 2014 draw for the UK National Lottery, the most popular number sequence chosen by 531 players was - incredibly... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

And, as far as we still know, this set of numbers has never been drawn in any game around the world.

The most popular number sequence chosen by 531 players in one game was 1-2-3-4-5-6. Image: Lotto Looks

You would think then that no one could choose any other silly number patterns. Well guess again...

Because the second most popular number sequence played for that Saturday evening’s draw was 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. And 455 British lottery players played these numbers.

So it looks like you will have to stop using consecutive 6-figure combos in your ticket selection, it’s not going to help at all.

POLL Do you use consecutive numbers when you play?

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