Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s horsemen played Hazard amid a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was gotten from the name of the losing throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A few acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.