Some amazing lottery number coincidences that even the best brains can't figure out

The Israeli lottery drew the same numbers twice in one month in 2012. Photo: Mr Reid

"So, where do you live?" the salesman enquired pleasantly, making small talk as he led us round the store. "Are you local?"

I told him. He stopped and said, "That's interesting. I live below your road, I think. I've always looked up and admired the houses up there - particularly the big modern one with the zigzag roof."

"Well, that's ours," I said.

"Is it!" he said in surprise. "What a coincidence."

He told us where he lived, and I said, "I can see your place from ours."

There was more of a coincidence that I was willing to let on. Because a couple of years earlier, after admiring the color of a house further down the hillside for a while, I had mine painted in the same shade.

That was his house.

You also get a lot of coincidences in lottery games which seem extraordinary, and often start a lot of false theories:

On Sept. 11, 2002 -9/11/02, the New York State lottery numbers were 9, 11.
In 2009 a 1-in-5.2 million shot came through in Bulgaria, when the same 6 winning numbers turned up in two consecutive drawings - 4, 15, 23, 24, 35 and 42.
In 2010 the Israeli lottery had drawn the same six numbers twice in a month.

The unusual Draw 640 result in Korea drew attention because these exact numbers also appeared in Draw 64. GRAPHIC: Lottolyzer

In France a player won $4 million in the lottery - twice, 15 years apart.
These French coincidences show it’s not rare: A player hit $3 million on two occasions in 1994 and 1997. Another pocketed 675,000 euro in 1992 and 7 million euro seven years later. In 1991, another player won 2 million Lotto Sports, and 9 million in Lotto in 2010.

The last three digits of Sunday's first prize lottery - number 531404 - matched the 5404 licence plate number of the Volkswagen mini-van used by Thai caretaker prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.