Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about one hundred years old. Modern craps evolved from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved down south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is acquired from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he established the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.