History of Craps

The origin of Craps is not easy to determine, as dice have been used for entertainment and gambling since the beginning of time. Craps is believed to have descended from a game called “hazard”, played in medieval England. Hazard became very popular among the nobility in England and France during the 17^th century. The English used the term “crabs” referring to the dice throws that were considered losing – 2, 3 or 12. It is thought, that the French pronunciation of this term gave the name of what we know today as Craps.

Craps was brought to the US by the colonies in the early 1800s. The first and much simpler version of the game became quite popular in New Orleans. Craps started spreading across the US, traveling as a popular feature on the Mississippi steamboats. The development of the game as we know it today is due to a man by the name of John Winn. It was him that took the rules of Craps to an improved level in 1907. Winn introduced the option of betting that the shooter would lose the throw and added a corresponding “don’t-pass” betting area to the table, which is known as the Philadelphia Layout.

As gambling was legalized in Nevada in the 1930s, Craps became familiar to the rest of the world. Today, though not the most popular one, Craps takes an important place among the casino gambling games by attracting the crowds with its fast-paced play and emotion.