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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the ancestry of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the bad luck throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
