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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps formed from the old English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s horsemen played Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is gotten from the name of the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. Many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he created the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
