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Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard amid a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French relocated down south and discovered safety in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the losing toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. A few acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.