Since Powerball moved to its 1 to 69 pool on October 7, 2015, it has drawn 13 fewer times than any other white ball: 78 times in 1,425 draws through October 26, 2026, against a fair share of about 103. Case closed, 13 is unlucky? Not so fast. Millionaire for Life has drawn 13 more often than any other number since its first draw on February 22, 2026.
November 13, 2026 is World Kindness Day, and this year it lands on a Friday. So in the spirit of the day, let's be kind to 13 and let its record speak for itself.
Is 13 really Powerball's least-drawn number?
On the white balls, yes. Across the 1,425 draws from October 7, 2015 to October 26, 2026, ball 13 came up 78 times, last of all 69. The leader, 21, came up 128 times. Five balls from 69, over that many draws, works out to about 103 apiece, so 13 sits roughly 25 under the line. The full table is on the Powerball frequency page.
Before calling that a curse, ask what last place looks like when nothing at all is wrong. We had a computer draw 1,425 random Powerball draws, five thousand times over. The number in last place usually finished about 22 under its fair share, and in about one run in four it finished at 78 or lower. Somebody has to hold the bottom spot. This time it is 13.
And as the red Powerball, 13 is a model citizen: 53 appearances in those same 1,425 draws, 14th of 26, just under its fair share of about 55. The same game, the same number, two different stories.
Then why is 13 Millionaire for Life's most-drawn number?
Millionaire for Life has drawn 13 thirty times in its 248 draws from February 22 to October 27, 2026, more than any other number from 1 to 58. Its fair share over that run is about 21. Second place, 35, has 29, so the lead is exactly one draw wide.
A number cannot be cursed in one game and charmed in the next. The balls do not know which machine they are in, what day it is, or what the number printed on them means to people. They just tumble.
Where does 13 rank in the other games?
Mostly right in the middle, which is where a number with nothing special going on tends to live. Here is 13 in the remaining pools on the Odds Engine dashboard, each counted over that game's current number pool:
- Mega Millions white balls: 67 times in 939 draws from October 31, 2017 to October 27, 2026, against a fair share of 67.1. You cannot get much closer to the line than that. It ranks 33rd of 70.
- Rolling Cash 5: 1,007 times in 7,921 draws from October 4, 2004 to October 27, 2026, against a fair share of about 1,016. It ranks 21st of 39.
- Classic Lotto: 394 times in the 3,094 draws on record from January 22, 2007 to October 26, 2026, against a fair share of about 379. It ranks 9th of 49.
- The Mega Ball: 3 times in the 163 draws since its pool became 1 to 24 on April 8, 2025 (through October 27, 2026), against a fair share of about 7. It ranks 23rd of 24, and a record that short swings wide for every number in it.
Do Friday the 13th draws treat 13 differently?
Mega Millions draws on Tuesdays and Fridays, so it has drawn on 43 Friday the 13ths, from September 13, 2002 through March 13, 2026. 13 turned up in two of them, December 13, 2002 and July 13, 2012. Chance alone puts it at about three and a half. Rolling Cash 5 draws every night and has 38 Friday the 13th draws, from May 13, 2005 through March 13, 2026. 13 came up in three (April 13, 2018, November 13, 2020 and December 13, 2024), against about five by chance. Millionaire for Life has had exactly one, March 13, 2026, and 13 sat it out.
Powerball and Classic Lotto never draw on a Friday, so neither has a single Friday the 13th draw on record. Whatever the date is up to, those two games are not around for it.
Small samples do throw up spooky-looking streaks, though. In those 38 Rolling Cash 5 Friday the 13th draws, 33 came up 12 times, more than twice its share. Across all 7,921 Rolling Cash 5 draws, 33 ranks, fittingly, 33rd of 39. Run 38 random draws enough times and some number reaches 12 about once in every 13 tries. A streak like that is a coincidence with good timing, nothing more.
What has November 13 itself looked like?
Rolling Cash 5 has drawn on November 13 in 21 different years on record, through 2025. Three numbers share the top spot with six appearances each: 3, 13 and 33. Yes, 13 again. The November 13, 2020 draw, itself a Friday the 13th, held both 3 and 13: 3, 13, 26, 35 and 38.
On November 13, 2026, the ball marked 13 goes into the machine with the same chance as every other ball in it, exactly 5 in 39. The calendar does not get a vote.
So, is 13 unlucky?
Not by any measure the draws can take. Across five games 13 has finished first, last and nearly everywhere in between, and every one of those places is the kind chance hands out. Each draw is independent: the machine has no memory of last Friday and no calendar for this one.
Every count here comes from the same draw history the Odds Engine lottery number analysis app reads. Now you know more about 13 than anyone knocking on wood this Friday.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is 13 an unlucky lottery number?
- No. From October 7, 2015 to October 26, 2026 Powerball drew 13 less than any other white ball (78 times in 1,425 draws), but Millionaire for Life has drawn it more than any other number since its first draw on February 22, 2026, and in Mega Millions it sits almost exactly on its fair share. Each draw is independent, and the machine does not know one number from another.
- Do Friday the 13th lottery draws turn out differently?
- Not in the record. Mega Millions drew on 43 Friday the 13ths from 2002 through March 13, 2026, and 13 came up in two, against about three and a half by chance. Rolling Cash 5 drew on 38 and 13 came up in three, against about five. Powerball and Classic Lotto do not draw on Fridays at all.
- Which number has Powerball drawn least since 2015?
- 13, with 78 appearances as a white ball in the 1,425 draws from October 7, 2015 to October 26, 2026, about 25 under its fair share of 103. In random runs of the same length the last-place number usually finishes about 22 under, so 13's spot is an ordinary one for last place.