Craps History
Craps is one of the oldest and most widely-played dice games in the world. Although the game fell out of favor when slot machines were introduced in the late 1800s, it has enjoyed a renewed popularity in online casinos. Craps is also said to draw in more money than any other casino game.
The modern version of Craps was developed in the early 19th Century, but its origins date back thousands of years. It is believed that dice have been in existence since 2600 BC and were used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. Dice came in many forms and were also used in other parts of the world, such as India, North America and Korea.
‘Hazard’ is seen as the main inspiration for Craps, although there have been many similar games that have come and gone through the years. Some believe that Hazard was invented by the Arabs – the name derived from the word “al zar” or “azzah”, meaning “the dice”.
However, another theory follows the English Crusaders, who went east in 1125 and took control of a castle named “Asart” or “Hazarth”; it was around this time that they also invented a dice game, which they named after the castle. By the 17th century Hazard was an immensely popular pastime for the higher classes in England and soon spread to France, where it was given the name of ‘Craps’.
There is plenty of argument over how Craps reached North America. The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower certainly brought dice from Britain, but it is widely considered to be the French that took Craps across the Atlantic. The game was played throughout the southern states, after the French were displaced by the British in the northern half the country.
This was also another turning point for the game, as many believe it was African Americans who developed the version of Craps that we play today – some theorists say the name ‘Craps’ actually came from the slang term for American Dominoes, “Crapshooting”. But whatever were the origins for the game, it soon became a widespread pastime, in both the luxury casinos and the back streets of the southern cities.
Craps was developed further during the 19th century by the famous dice maker, John H Winn – inventor of the “Philadelphia Layout”, which is still used to this day. Winn was also responsible for creating ‘Pass/ Low Pass’ wagers as well as the ‘Big 6’ and ‘Big 8’. However, what was seen as his most valuable contribution was to allow players to bet on the shooter, which removed problems associated with ‘loaded’ dice.
