There is also evidence that a form of craps can be dated back to the time of the Holy Roman Empire. Soldiers in the Roman Legions used to shave down pig knuckles into the shapes of cubes, and toss them onto their inverted shields as a form of entertainment while in camp. Hence we get the term 'to roll the bones'.

Harley davidson slot machine worth. We do know that the game we know today as 'craps' came to the United States from Europe.

There are two general forms of craps played today - 'Street Craps' and 'Bank Craps'.

Street Craps is the game you find played, well, on the street. A shooter establishes a point, then tries to make that point. Bettors either bet with the shooter (on the point) or against the shooter (on the 7). Someone must 'fade' the shooter (cover the bet) in order for the game to progress.

Bank Craps is what we normally see in the casino. The 'bank' part of the name comes from the fact that someone, or something (like a casino) must 'bank' the game; that is, cover all bets of the players. In this manner, the players are playing against the house.

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Here is another take on the history of the game, by author Mark Pilarski. The following was reprinted from an article that appeared in “Craps Companion - #7” (http://craps.casino.com):Gaminator slot machines online.

Back before the Middle Ages, the Arabs played a game using little numbered cubes, called azzahr (meaning 'the
die'). The game showed up across the Mediterranean in France, where it was renamed hasard, then jumped the English Channel to England some time before 1500 AD where it was given the English spelling of the same word, hazard. The roll of lowest value in that game was called crabs. The French, trying to be amiable, adopted that term from the English, but spelling it the French way as crabes. In the early 1700's, the game crossed the Atlantic to the French colony of Acadia.

In 1755, the French lost Acadia to the English who promptly renamed it Nova Scotia and chucked out the French-speaking Acadians, who roamed around a bit and finally relocated in Louisiana, where they were called (as they still are) Cajuns, and developed a language called Louisiana French. They still played the good old dice game, but dropped the title of hasard and called the game simply crebs or creps, which was their spelling of the French crabes.

By 1843, the Cajun word came into American English as craps. People were apparently careful for a while not to omit the final s for fear of confusion with a slang term having a totally different meaning, but that's another story.

By 1885, such expressions as crapsgame, crapstable, and crapsshooter were found to be just too finicky so the final s was dropped where it served no useful purpose as in composites like craptable, crapshooter, crapgame, etc., and retained where it refers only to the game (game of craps) or the losing roll (he craps out, he rolled craps) or where it would be too hard to pronounce (she crapped out, rather than she crapsed out).

Well fellow crapshooters, do you have a clearer picture yet? I asked a colleague of mine, whom I dealt craps with at Lake Tahoe what she thought of the above, and she said that I was really full of craps!

(Editors Note: Mark Pilarski survived 18 years in the casino trenches, working for seven different casinos in Northern Nevada. Mark now writes a nationally syndicated gambling column, is a university lecturer, and is the creator of the best-selling, award-winning audiocassette series on casino gambling, Hooked on Winning. His entire book, Deal Me In, can be found online at his web site: http://markpilarski.com )

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Here is yet another take on the history of the game, this time by noted author Frank Scoblete. The following was reprinted from an article that appeared in “Craps Companion - #6” (http://craps.casino.com):

'Roll dem bones.' I'm sure craps players have heard that line many, many times before. In fact, just about every craps player says it at some time or another. It is the oldest expression in the books. It is the oldest expression even before there were books. Come to think of it, it is the oldest expression even before there was papyrus.

“Roll dem bones” was a practice made perfect by thousands of years of trial and tribulation going back to a time when men and women wore fur and no one protested. You see, the original material for “dice” was literally bone; the ankle bones of sheep (called astragals) or the bones of other animals (called bones of other animals) and even the bones of people. (“Take grandpappy's remains out of the case, Og, he's gonna roll tonight!”)

These bones were used to divine the will of, well, the divines, as in the gods, the angels, and the demons who flitted in and out of our world. These bones were also used to ask the “ancients”who look over us and out for us, what we should do about this, that and those other things. (What I always wonder about those “ancients” that look over and out for us is - do they watch us having sex? I mean does my sainted grandmother, Nana Rose, actually watch me doing IT? Are there huge cheering galleries of “ancients” hanging around everyone's bedroom waiting for you know what? Do these “ancients” bet on timing, technique and talent? God, I hope not.)

Of course, the first “bone rollers” were not interested in casino gambling as they had far more serious gambles in mind, like war and love and crop planting and pillaging everything they could. They rolled “dem bones” and then figured out whether their local god, or angel, or demon, or “ancient” was urging them to make love, not war, with their significant other local tribesmen or tribeswomen. They also decided whether it was best to lay waste the neighboring tribe's city and decimate their cattle and crops, or whether it was just best to leave everything as it was and not upset the apple carts of the local neighbors . . . or whatever carts they had that were carrying whatever they had in them.

Naturally they decided which, among all these things, theywould do by reading the symbols they carved into the bones or by reading the combinations of symbols that came up depending on how many of “dem bones” dey, excuse me, they were rolling.

Naturally, sometimes they guessed right. (Grandpappy's bones say lay waste to yonder city! Hooray, he was right! We laid it waste, everyone! Let's party because our enemies are now our servants!) And, naturally they sometimes guessed wrong. (“Yonder citizens were huge and they kicked our boney buttocks. Thanks, grandpappy, you bonehead; it didn't work! Now we are serving our enemies at their victory party as they all shout out Skoal!”)

Indeed, our primitive forebears were not so much differentfrom us. Indeed, the women complained that the men didn't respect them and that the men were disgusting pigs who had only one thing on their minds, and you know what that was - football! But I digress. What I mean to say is: indeed, many an atavistic trait can be seen in today's craps players, apart from the “roll dem bones” expression. We craps players are in some very real way waiting for the judgment of the gods of fate when we watch the bones hop, skip and jump their way down the felt to the end of the table. Sure, we might not find out if we can loot the neighboring village on any given roll, but we most definitely find out whether we're won some loot, lost some loot, or preserved our loot to play again without delay.

Intro 1

Ezekiel connected dem dry bones,

Ezekiel connected dem dry bones,

Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones,

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Verse 1

Toe bone connected to the foot bone

Foot bone connected to the heel bone

Heel bone connected to the ankle bone

Ankle bone connected to the shin bone

Shin bone connected to the knee bone

Knee bone connected to the thigh bone

Thigh bone connected to the hip bone

Hip bone connected to the back bone

Back bone connected to the shoulder bone

Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone

Neck bone connected to the head bone

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Chorus

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Intro 2

Ezekiel disconnected dem dry bones,

Ezekiel disconnected dem dry bones,

Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones,

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Verse 2

Head bone (dis)connected from the neck bone

Neck bone connected from the shoulder bone

Shoulder bone connected from the back bone

Back bone connected from the hip bone

Hip bone connected from the thigh bone

Thigh bone connected from the knee bone

Knee bone connected from the shin bone

Shin bone connected from the ankle bone

Ankle bone connected from the heel bone

Heel bone connected from the foot bone

Foot bone connected from the toe bone

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Chorus

Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.

Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.

Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Finale

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.

Now hear the word of the Lord.