roulette chips - changing denomination

What keeps a player from pocketing roulette chips and rebuying in later at a higher denomination and putting the chips back into play?

Each color of roulette chip is used by a single player at a time. The roulette chips are not used anywhere other than on that one specific table. The roulette dealer knows exactly how many of each color chip are assigned to the table and keeps them in uniform stacks. If a player leaves with one/some of the chips, it is immediately obvious. You would likely be intercepted before you could get far away from the table and asked to convert them to standard chips/checks. If you smuggled some away during play, that would be obvious when you stopped play. If you plead ignorance or such, then the casino would likely take that color of chips out of play for some time and be very cautious when they were eventually returned to action. If someone came back to buy in with that color at a higher denomination, the casino would be watching very closely for the missing chips to be slipped back into play.

If there are multiple tables open do they not share the same chip colors? You said they are only used at that specific table. Are they numbered or marked to show which table?

They are not shared by tables. If a casino has multiple roulette tables, each chip is marked as to which table it belongs on.

Missing chips will be obvious, as will extra chips.

If you managed to walk away with a chip, it would be obvious when you returned and tried to put it in play and eventually cash it in, since each color starts the day with a the same number of full stacks.

Quote: scottndindy

If there are multiple tables open do they not share the same chip colors? You said they are only used at that specific table. Are they numbered or marked to show which table?

They normally have a colour and a number printed in the middle of them.