Craps

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, however Hazard is said to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s horsemen bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the English, the French moved down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and across the country. A good many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he invented the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.