Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the origin of the game, however Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French relocated south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and across the country. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn designed the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he created the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.