Protecting Your Chips

[UprightCreature]

Recently a Commerce player told me about a guy he was playing 40-80 with. Supposedly a gentleman who had a few racks of chips got up to use the restroom. A few minutes later a younger kid shows up at the table while talking on his cell phone. He says into the cell “Ok dad, I’ll rack you up and meet you at the cage.” The kid proceeds to rack up all the chips and leaves. A few minutes later the guy comes back and asks where his chips are, and the table informs him that his son has his chips at the main cage. To this he replies “I don’t have a son!” I of course have no idea whether this story is true or not, but supposedly it is, and the guy didn’t get his chips back, nor reimbursed by the casino.

What can a player do to protect themselves and their chips when away from the table? What kind of responsibility does or should the casino have to protect the chips (I suspect this varies by jurisdiction)? What level of security for the chips should a player reasonable be able to expect?

I already take all paper and high denomination chips when I am away from the table, but I don’t really make any effort to protect my main pile of chips other than knowing approximately how many I have. Even though I am know by the regulars and dealers in my home casino, I’m not so sure if anyone would actually stop someone trying to take my chips with some story or another, let alone when I’m playing out of town.