Dice and dice based games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Modern day craps developed from the archaic English game called Hazard. No one is certain of the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been designed by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is theorized that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard at the time of a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Initial French settlers imported the game Hazard to French North America (the area of Acadia, which is Nova Scotia today). In the 1700s, when driven away by the British, the French headed south and located sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they after a while became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Nova Scotia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically honest. It is stated that the Cajuns amended the name of the game to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the dice game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so folks could bet on the shooter to lose. Later, he developed the boxes for Place bets and added the Big six, Big eight, and Hardways.
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