Craps Information

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about one hundred years old. Modern craps evolved from the old Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard amid a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the British, the French headed down south and located sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.