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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is acquired from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and all over the country. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he created the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
