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SCHENECTADY - After June Mattice locked in her $1 million winnings, the 30-year-old Hope resident locked her keys in her car.

Mattice had just finished shopping at the Grand Union on North Main Street in Northville on Nov. 7 when she purchased three $5 New York State Lottery Cash Blast scratch-off tickets.

After leaving the store, she sat in her car and scratched off the first ticket - a $1 million winner.

"I scratched the first one and thought it was a winner," Mattice said. "I wasn't thinking about my keys when I went back into the store to see if I really won $1 million."

Store Manager Wayne Keck scanned the ticket for her.

"My manager didn't believe me," said Mattice, who works part time at the Grand Union as a scanning coordinator, entering weekly sales into the store's computer system.

Mattice had the day off when she left the Grand Union with her winnings, so she claimed the ticket at the Lottery's Schenectady headquarters the same day.

The uncle of Mattice's boyfriend helped her unlock her car, jokingly telling her it would cost her $1 million. Mattice gave the other two scratch-off tickets to her boyfriend's stepmother, but neither ticket yielded any cash.

Mattice will receive her $1 million in a series of 20 annual payments of $50,000. The net payment after taxes will total $33,015 per year through 2028.

The Lottery issues payment in installments via electronic transfers that take up to three days, so Mattice will see her first check in time for holiday shopping, said Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman.

Mattice's two daughters, ages 10 and 6, requested Zhu Zhu Pets and a laptop.

"After I told them [about the winnings], they added a few things to their Christmas list, but I told them 'no,'" Mattice said. She did not want to reveal any special Christmas gifts for her daughters or anyone else in the spirit of surprise. She did say she plans to set aside much of the cash for a college fund for her children.

Mattice works two jobs and is enrolled in EMT classes. She doesn't plan on letting the money affect her work ethic, since she will remain employed and enrolled.

"It'll make my life easier," she said. "I won't have to worry as much."

This wasn't the first time Mattice cashed in on a Cash Blast ticket. She won $500 earlier in the Cash Blast game, which was introduced in September. The odds of winning the jackpot in the Cash Blast game are 1 in 2.6 million. The odds of winning anything are 1 in 4.

"I think she deserves every bit of it," said her mother, Linda Mattice of Wells.

For seven years, June Mattice has made a home in what was once a one-room schoolhouse. Though rooms have been added, Mattice said she has no closets. Before she won the $1 million, it was always her dream to build closets in her house.

"I have small hopes," she said.

Even though she already hit the jackpot, Mattice will continue to play the lottery to support New York and education, she said in a news release from the Lottery.

Last year, the Lottery gave $31.7 million to schools in Fulton County alone, said Lottery Director Gordon Medenica.

Mattice's brother, Ron, of Menands, occasionally plays the lottery but never won much. He said he's thrilled for his sister.

"All the guys in my office want to know if she's single now," said Mattice, who works in the technical department for the City School District of Albany.

June Mattice, who is not married but has a boyfriend, is the first Hamilton County resident ever to win the jackpot in any Lottery game. Now she can hang her hat on Lottery history, and in her home's first new closet.

Amanda Whistle covers Montgomery County. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com