Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern day craps is just about 100 years old. Modern craps flourished from the very old British game known as Hazard. No one is certain of the birth of the game, but Hazard is considered to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 1300’s. It is alleged that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard for the duration of a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada (the colony of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia). In the 1700s, when expelled by the British, the French moved south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Nova Scotia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the dice game and developed it to be more statistically honest. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name of the game to craps, which was derived from the name of the losing throw of two in the dice game of Hazard, called "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and around the country. Many consider the die maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big six, Big eight, and Hardways.