Craps

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Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps formed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was acquired 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 riverboats and throughout the country. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.