Dice and dice based games go back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps developed from the ancient British game known as Hazard. No one is certain of the origin of the game, but Hazard is considered to have been developed by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard during a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Initial French colonists imported the dice game Hazard to French North America (the colony of Acadia, which is Nova Scotia today). In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French moved south and discovered sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Nova Scotia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the dice game and developed it to be more statistically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the name of the game to craps, which was developed from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and all over the union. Many see the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps table design. He included the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the shooter to lose. Later, he created the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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