Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps formed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is theorized that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he designed the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.