Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French moved south and discovered refuge in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, referred to 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 creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn built the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.