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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately one hundred years old. Current craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is theorized that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he designed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.