Craps Information

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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, although Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen enjoyed Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when exiled by the English, the French moved down south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and all over the country. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.