Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French headed down south and located safety in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. A good many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps layout. He appended the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he created the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.