Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was gotten from the name of the bad luck toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. Many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.