“I thought her story was similar to mine,” said Ms. Collins, 52, who works for Health Service Executive, Ireland’s public health program. She hopes to use the proceeds to move to Italy ...

Six months later, on May 22, she got a text from a friend asking, “By chance, did you win a cottage in Ireland?” “And I said, ‘I don’t think so, but let me check,’” Ms. Spangler said.