Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the origin of the game, but Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French relocated south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and throughout the country. A few think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.