Craps

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Be brilliant, play smart, and discover how to play craps the right way!

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 come about from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A great many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he invented the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.