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Craps Background
Dice are the oldest gambling tools. Evidence of dice and dice games have been found all over the
ancient world, with modern looking cubical dice (dated at 600 B.C.) having been found in Egypt.
Thus the history of dice and dice games in general is a few thousand years old.
The game that we know as craps is much more recent having been brought to America from Europe.
Because dice games are so old there are several thoughts as to the history of craps. One take of
the history of craps goes as follows.
Before the middle ages, the Arabs were playing a dice game called Azzahr (meaning "the die").
The game ended up in France where it was named Hasard. From France the game jumped the English
Channel to England sometime before 1500 A.D. were it was given the English spelling Hazard.
Formal rules for Hazard were established by Montmort early in the 1700's.
The game of Hazard crossed the Atlantic with early settlers. It is thought to have been brought
to New Orleans by Acadians (displaced French settlers from Nova Scotia). The Cajuns (as the
Acadians came to be known) dropped the name Hasard and called the game Crebs or Creps, and by
1843 the Cajun word came into American English as Craps.
Hazard rules and odds changed many times. New variations simplified and sped up the original
game of Hazard. Bernard de Maneville is credited with simplifying the game into the present
game of Craps. John H. Winn improved the table layout creating such things as places for players
to bet for or against the shooter.
In 1931 casino gambling was legalized in Nevada and Casino Craps (Las Vegas style) became
popular all over the world.
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