Craps

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he invented the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.