Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Modern craps evolved from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard during a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the English, the French headed down south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was gotten from the name of the bad luck throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. A few think the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he established the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.