Craps Information

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French headed south and located sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. A few acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.