Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French moved south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the bad luck toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. Most acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.