Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Analyzing the Most Popular Lottery Numbers in Excel | Mega Millions.
Welcome to the MrExcel netcast, where we discuss all things Excel. I'm your host, Bill Jelen. In today's episode, we're going to take a break from our usual Excel tips and tricks to tackle a question from one of our viewers, Scott from Australia. Scott asked about how to choose the most popular lottery numbers using Excel. With the Mega Millions lottery jackpot reaching a staggering 216 billion, this question couldn't have come at a better time. So, let's dive in and see how we can use Excel to analyze the most popular numbers in the Mega Millions lottery.
Before we get started, I want to apologize for any confusion. This episode was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but due to the time-sensitive nature of the topic, we decided to move it to Wednesday. So, if you were expecting a different topic today, don't worry, we'll get back to our regular programming tomorrow. Now, let's get back to the lottery numbers. I went to the Mega Millions website and downloaded all the winning numbers. The data was in a nice, clean format, so I simply copied and pasted it into Excel. Then, using the "Text to Columns" feature, I separated the data into different columns for the date, number, and type of drawing.
Next, I created a pivot table to analyze the data. I dropped the number field into the rows section and the type field into the data section. By using the "Count" function, I was able to see how many times each number appeared in the regular drawing. The top five most popular numbers were 32, 5, 22, 47, and 42. However, since there is a three-way tie for the fifth spot, it's up to you to decide which combination of those numbers to play. But, don't forget about the "money ball" or the Mega Ball, which can greatly increase your odds of winning. According to our analysis, the most popular money ball number is 3.
So, there you have it. If you're feeling lucky, go ahead and play those numbers in the next Mega Millions drawing. And who knows, if we all win, we might not have to do another episode of this podcast again! But in all seriousness, I hope this analysis has given you some insight into choosing your lottery numbers. And don't forget to tune in tomorrow, when we'll be back with our regular programming. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more Excel tips and tricks. See you next time!
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After Scotts question for tomorrows podcast, I thought it would be cool to see how a pivot table could analyze the most popular lottery numbers. The MegaMillions jackpot in several US states is up to $216 million and today's podcast will select the most popular numbers. Episode 453 shows you how. UPDATE: the Mega Millions download site has changed. For a lengthy 2014 video showing more complete steps, watch: • Excel - Mega Millions ...
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Table of Contents:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:16) Explanation of the topic
(00:26) Using a pivot table to analyze lottery numbers
(00:47) Technical steps to create the pivot table
(02:20) Results and analysis of the most popular numbers
(02:40) Clicking Like really helps the algorithm
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