Same Lottery Numbers Win 2 Out of 3 Days

(07/12/2007 -- RALEIGH) - Coincidence or collusion? That's the question some North Carolinians are asking after the exact same winning lottery numbers popped up two times in three days. In the Carolina Cash Five lottery, Monday's and Wednesday's winning numbers were the exact same.

Eyewitness News took the numbers to the statistics department at N.C. State and asked an expert to explain the chances of such an occurrence.

"We're talking about one set of favorite numbers that one person's playing over and over again," explained Leonard Stefanski, statistics professor. "The chance of those coming up two times out of three days is much, much smaller. It's on the order of nine in a trillion."

Stefanski admits chances of what happened with the Carolina Cash Five are small. But the chances are small enough to raise big concerns unless you are a winner. Twelve winners will split $118,000. That's about $9,800 each.

More details at abc11tv.