Hand retrieved from muck at Binions - bad ruling?

[luckydonut]

3 tables remaining in 8pm tournament. I have about 4 big blinds left and decide to push and try to steal with A7. I get one caller. By the time I go to flip my cards, the dealer has mucked my opponent's hand. Floor is called. Floor whispers to player. Player whispers back to floor. Floor retrieves two nines from the muck and the hand is played out. Clearly I busted out, or I would not be posting this yet [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I asked why this decision has been made when earlier this week I saw the exact situation called the other way, the players hand being ruled dead and his chips forfeited. At that time, the floorperson even fetched a printed copy of TDA rules to explain to a very peed off player why he could not retrieve his hand.

The explanation tonight was "I have discretion here, and I'm doing it for the integrity of the game". At the time I accepted I was fighting a losing battle, and that it would be extremly bad karma to push any harder for free chips when I was clearly going to be facing a better hand. The problem I have now having dwelled on it on the ride back is not so much that the hand was allowed to be played out (in fact, if it's easy to retrieve the hand, I think this should be done) but that it was done covertly. I know this is a very paranoid view, but rules exists for this very reason - for the integrity of the game. Surely if it was possible to retrieve the hand, the player should have named his hand out loud, then we examine the muck face up to see if indeed that hand is there. Although I'd be a fool to suggest this is what happened tonight (and I don't believe it is) it would be absolutely possible for the floorman to plant a strong hand with the player.

Anyone have experience with similar rulings? I've seen hands mucked by the dealer called dead countless times - this is the first time I've seen one retrieved.