Ruling about putting chips in front of one's cards

[NickMPK]

I am head-up in tournament at Borgata, but very short-stacked, with about 4x the big blind. I am dealt 45o in the SB, limp, and the BB raises all in. I start counting my chips out in front of me to determine if the odds are forcing me to call, and one of the tournament directors declares that I have called the bet because I placed some of my chips in front of my cards. (At this point, a bunch of TDs, dealers, and other people are standing around watching the end of the tournament.) I protest, claiming I have never heard of this rule before, and they are only enforcing it now because so many people are watching, but another TD affirms that I have called the bet.

So I just accepted that this is a rule, but I was watching the WSOP broadcast tonight, and saw a player blantantly count out his chips in front of his cards just like I did (Lamkin counting when had 88 and DN had AQ), and nobody seemed to have a problem with this. I feel like I've seen people do this on many occassions. Is this just an Atlantic City rules, was the Borgata TD wrong, or is the WSOP just not enforcing it?