Craps

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Dice and dice games goes back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the English, the French moved down south and found safety in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. Many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he designed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.