It always makes me chuckle when the affiliates post on here mocking the idea that the slots are not purely random (not as in 5 random stop positions and the result is whatever the result is) when the evidence is 100% that they are weighted.
There are too many games to mention all software where the bonus and wild symbols visually and statistically disappear from the reels.
Even new releases like the MG Chef game the scatters disappear on some reels for a while (you will never see them go past nor will they hit)
Also when the game slag and we get those long spins where we cans see full cycles of the reel layouts it is undeniable and obvious - sometimes the reels are longer as well with extra symbols. I have no idea why this should be visually represented though instead of just weighting the stop positions as with 3 reel slots.
It may have something to do with licensing requirements.
Also no doubt they maintain a random element but also no way do you have the same possibilities of a win each spin.
The actual TRTP may be tied to the reels and paytable but they are not bound by them. What I mean by that is that the reel layouts are a rough visual representation of the TRTP and not that the TRTP is a mathematical result of the visual representation of the symbols and the paytable.
The visuals are irrelevant and they could be just 12 symbols long instead of 100 and play exactly the same way only people would get uppity because they would know the stop positions are really just representation of the result of that "lottery draw"
Oddly this doesn't seem to bother people on 3 reel slots though, especially those that have bonus rounds where the weighting is very conspicuous.
ie a reel maybe 20 symbols long and a scatter on win line of last reel triggers a bonus but you will always see the bonus symbol 1 below or 1 above because the bonus symbol is "weighted" to have 1 in 150 chance or whatever and not a 1 in 20 chance.
None of that means the game are rigged or not set to the TRTP as advertised but it does mean they can be hot and cold because the variance is not natural but manufactured which is why bonus giving scatter symbols especially will literally vanish sometimes and others they will be flying in every spin (until the bonus is triggered or the algorithm that controls that aspect of the variance is switched)
No cats, no tinfoil hats, just basic programming geared toward the needs of the client (Casino)