Most casinos charge in one way or another for local and toll-free phone calls, either by way of a nightly fee for unlimited calls or for each call individually. Other than the few hotels that offer free unlimited local calls, charges range from 25¢ (the Western) to $2.50 (Green Valley Ranch) per call, with a range of prices in between. Also beware of those hotels that charge a flat rate for a set number of minutes, only to hit you with per-minute charges once the initial time limit has been breached (the Rio, for instance, charges $1.25 for the first 10 minutes and 15¢ per minute thereafter).
Of the 90 hotels we surveyed, only 23 admitted to charging per dial -- that is, the moment you hit "9" for an outside line, which applies even if you’re charging the call to a credit or calling card of some sort. The explanation we were given is that this is an "access fee," so it seems that you're being charged for the privilege of having access to an outside line, not for the call itself. The other properties claimed to charge only per connection; however, the hotels' definition of "connection" isn’t consistent, so you’d be advised to clarify phone charges at the front desk upon arrival.
Additionally, wherever you stay you may want to let someone at the front desk know if you've just made a call that didn't go through for one reason or another. Many of the people we spoke to said that your room would be charged per dial, but that if you alerted them to an incomplete call, it can be removed from your bill. Be advised, however, that every time you reach an answering service of any kind, it’s considered a connection for which you’ll be charged accordingly.
Tip: Some hotels still allow you to make a free local call from the house phones -- these included the Mirage, TI, and the Venetian the last time we checked (which was some time ago). Another play is to go to the poker room, which can now be found in many casinos. Poker rooms almost always provide this service to their players, since games can be prolonged and people often need to conduct other business in between hands. Just walk in and act like you belong there; you'll usually have to dial 9 to get an outside line.
Click here for our survey of hotels' local and toll-free phone charges.
