Craps

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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard amid a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved down south and discovered sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he established the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.