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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard during a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French moved down south and located safety in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is gotten from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he designed the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.