Craps Information

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Modern craps come about from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the British, the French headed down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and across the country. A few consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.