Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about 100 years old. Modern craps formed from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French headed south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and all over the nation. Many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.