“Eighter from Decatur, County Seat of Wise,” is a common phrase chanted in the game of dice for luck during craps to roll an eight. It is named after a servant girl named Ada in the late 1800s. Will Cooper lived in Decatur and worked as a day laborer in the area. He was known for his love of a local servant named Ada and for playing craps. For luck, he would say, “Ada from Decatur, County Seat of Wise,” and it became popular around the area.
The saying changed when Cooper was hired as the cook for Decatur members of home guards and soldiers who traveled to Virginia to be in a reenactment of the Battle of Manassas.
During the long train ride there, the troops played dice using the phrase. The reenactors met with other participants from across the nation, spreading the phrase and taking it home with them. The saying is still popular among gamblers.
