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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is theorized that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the British, the French moved south and discovered safety in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and all over the country. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he established the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
