ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The line is growing at M&T Mini Mart in Albuquerque, and so is the jackpot. With Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing reaching over $900 million, hope is high, and ticket sales are booming.

“They’re meticulous with the way they do their lottery, right?” said Ashlee Weiss, co-owner of the M&T Mini Mart. “So, everyone has their own way to do things, and a lot of people are specific to a store. They feel like they win better at that store, they get better luck at that store, and luckily we’ve become that store for quite a few people.”

M&T Mini Mart Owner, Teresa Thompson, says he’s been selling hundreds of tickets a day, and it hasn’t slowed down.

“[It’s been] much busier,” said Thompson. “People buy tickets. If they win, then they use their winnings to buy more tickets, and it’s just like a big cycle.”

Players like Hazel and her dad say, even with the odds stacked against them, it’s about the dream. She says she’s her dad’s good luck charm.

“My dad wanted me to pick some lottos because the last time I did, he won $30,” she said.

Tickets are on sale until the drawing at 9 p.m. Tuesday night, then it’s all up to luck. If you haven’t bought one yet, you’re not alone. Lines like this one are expected right up to the drawing.

Whether it’s a dream, a dollar, or a long shot — this gas station says they’ll be ready to print hope until the very last minute.

“It spurs a lot of imagination when it gets this big,” said Wendy Ahlm, New Mexico Lottery director of Advertisement and Marketing. “People start thinking about what they could do, what they would do differently, what they might, you know, gift their friends or their family, or what kind of lifestyle they would have.”

New Orleans Privateers (0-2) at New Mexico Lobos (2-1)

Albuquerque, New Mexico; Wednesday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico takes on New Orleans after Destinee Hooks scored 20 points in New Mexico’s 71-64 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

New Mexico went 12-8 at home a season ago while going 18-14 overall. The Lobos averaged 70.4 points per game last season, 33.9 in the paint, 14.1 off of turnovers and 10.3 on fast breaks.

New Orleans went 5-24 overall with a 3-15 record on the road a season ago. The Privateers shot 35.1% from the field and 26.8% from 3-point range last season.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

A man is facing murder charges after allegedly admitting to deputies that he fatally shot two people inside a New Mexico home after receiving “an encrypted message in a cockroach” that he “needed to kill,” authorities say.

Alexis Hernandez, 25, was arrested and charged with two open counts of murder in connection with a Friday incident inside a southwest Albuquerque home, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Hernandez was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Saturday morning, and it is not immediately clear if he has retained a lawyer.

Authorities have not identified the men killed in the incident or the two young children who were also found inside the house at the time.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit filed at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, deputies responded to reports of gunfire in southwest Albuquerque just before 10:30 p.m. When deputies arrived, they were met at the front door by Hernandez, who “had a firearm on his waistband and a Marine Corps Sabre on his hip,” the arrest warrant said.

Hernandez, who was immediately detained, told deputies he was in the Marines and “had to do what he had to do,” the warrant states. He then allegedly stated there were two dead bodies inside the residence.

Once inside the house, the warrant states, deputies found one dead man “with possible gunshot wounds” in the front of the house and a second man with apparent stab wounds in an attached apartment.

The two children who were found inside were safely removed from the residence, the arrest warrant states.

In an interview with deputies after he was taken into custody, Hernandez said that he knew the two slain men, one of whom was the owner of the property, according to the warrant. He then allegedly said he had believed the property owner was a friend who had been stalking him during the days leading up to the incident.

The warrant states Hernandez alleged the friend had placed cameras in the lights. Hernandez also told deputies that he was allegedly “hearing creepy voices coming from the vents” and “had been getting signs” that he had to end the property owner before he ended him.

Hernandez later allegedly told deputies that he also had received “an encrypted message in a cockroach” that he “needed to kill” the property owner, the warrant says. He added that the property owner allegedly did not like cockroaches.

The warrant states that Hernandez had previously purchased a Glock handgun, which he said he had for “protection.” Hernandez told deputies that on Friday the two men allegedly took him to the back room of the home and that he “was afraid for his life at this point.”

He said he shot the property owner in the head and the other in the kitchen, the warrant says. At one point, Hernandez allegedly told deputies, he had gone to his Honda Pilot to reload his gun before going back to each victim and shooting him again.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the details of the second man’s cause of death.

The warrant states Hernandez admitted that he did not know what to do after the attack, so he “stayed on scene and walked around.” He allegedly added that he knew about the two children at the house and that they saw him shoot the two men.

He added that “he was not going to take the kids or do anything to them,” the warrant says.