Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps evolved from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard through a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the British, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.