Craps Information

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Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps come about from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is supposed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard through a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the English, the French moved south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and across the country. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he designed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.