That $2.04 Billion Winning Powerball Ticket Was Sold in Southern California—This Is What We’d Do If We Won

After months without a winning ticket (there hasn’t been one since Aug. 3), one lucky person in Altadena, California, matched all the numbers to win a record-breaking estimated grand prize of $2.04 billion. According to Yahoo News, the jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, which is northeast of Los Angeles. As someone who grew up in nearby Pasadena, I immediately texted my childhood friends after seeing the news to ask them if they or their parents had the winning ticket. No such luck there.

The drawing on Monday night had a hiccup because of some security issues, but after clearing that, everything was able to go on. The winning numbers were 10, 33, 41, 47, 56, and the Powerball number was 10.

Hearing that the winning ticket was bought in our backyard of sorts, it got the Sunset staff thinking about what they would do with the money. Obviously, your mind probably goes to paying off some bills, buying a new car, building your dream home, traveling the world, and hopefully, giving some of the winnings to charitable causes. But since we work at Sunset Magazine, we thought about what Western splurges we would jump on. Here are some of our ideas below.

Take a Dream Vacation in the West

With $2.04 billion in your pocket, you’ll probably be tempted to quit your job and travel the world. But don’t forget about the West—there’s just so much to explore in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii… the list goes on and on. We’d take a dream vacation, staying at iconic destinations like the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort in British Columbia, Stanly Ranch in Napa, Singlethread (for the food, too!) in Healdsburg, Alyeska Nordic Spa in Alaska, Castle Hot Springs near Phoenix, and Mii Amy in Sedona.

Splurge on an Expensive Dinner

You can probably splurge on an expensive dinner every night if you wanted. Or maybe even hire an esteemed Western chef to be your personal cook. But if we won, the first thing we’d do is take our family and friends out for a big dinner at famed restaurants like n/naka, Atelier Crenn, Hayato, and Urasawa.

Build a Stunning Backyard

You probably already have “build your dream house” on your to-do list if you were to win a jackpot. That most likely includes the backyard, too. We’d want to design a backyard that’s perfect for alfresco dinners and garden parties… and that’s water-wise, too.

And that’s just the tip of ideas on our list—what would you do if you won?

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