Those Odd Lottery Odds

Joe Speer in Covington, Ohio, writes:

I have tried to tell friends that in a lottery in which six numbers are drawn out of, say, 50 numbers (no Powerball, etc.), the chances of six consecutive numbers being drawn (after arrangement in order of smallest to largest) are the same as any other set of six numbers. Is this a correct statement?

Marilyn responds:

Yes. The chances of any particular set of six consecutive numbers (say, 1-2-3-4-5-6) being drawn are the same as the chances of any particular set of six non-consecutive numbers (say, 11-25-33-38-41-49) being drawn.