OK, “Craps” also refers to a roll of 2,3,or 12. But the bigger question is: why call the game (or the numbers) craps in the first place? Blackjack makes a little sense; roulette is french for little wheel (or something like that). We won’t get into poker today.
But why? In Vegas last week we asked two dozen casino workers from dealer to pit boss. All said “I don’t know” or “Because you say ‘crap’ when you lose your money”. One guy was a little more creative in his gag: “Because it’s a s**tty game”. But he was a blackjack dealer, what do you expect.
Serious replies preferred.
John
Because it’s crappy. Har.
I found this, if it helps,
“The most fashionable men of 18th and 19th century England rolled dice in a game called Hazard in luxurious private gambling houses. The French learned the game from the English and called it “Craps,” a corruption of “Crabs,” the name for a pair of ones. When settlers arrived in the new world, they brought their dice with them. And, gradually, as dice were rolled on riverboats, wharfs and in private houses, a simplified Americanized version of “Craps” developed.”
From History of Craps
“The rules for hazard are fairly simple. The shooter places an initial bet, that is then matched by opposing players. He throws he dice while verbally declaring a specific number between five and nine, this number is referred to as the main. If the shooter throws his selected number, he wins. If he throws either a two, or a three, he loses (this was referred to as crabs). If he throws any number other than his main, or the two/three, that number is called the chance. The shooter must now roll the chance number before rolling the main number in order to win. (Note: I didn’t make a spelling error above - the words is crabs)”
“The general consensus is that the game of hazard came to America along with the Pilgrims, migrated westward, and was eventually mutated into the modern game by southern Negro dock workers. This view is sometimes disputed by writers who claim the game of hazard was brought to New Orleans by the French in the early 1800’s which sometimes referred to the game as crapaud. This claim is disputed by many since there are many mentions of the game of hazard being played in America before the French settled in Louisiana.”
“The word craps is believed to be derived from the original term crabs which meant throwing either the 2, or 3, as opposed to some who claim derivation from the French word crapaud mentioned earlier.”