Craps

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Be clever, play cunning, and become versed in craps the proper way!

Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French relocated south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the losing throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.