Wagering game with a secondary reel having oversized single-evaluation symbols

A method of operating a gaming system, the gaming system including one or more controllers and a gaming machine, the gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing at least one casino wagering game, the gaming machine including an electronic display device and one or more electronic input devices, the method comprising:

• detecting, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;
• initiating the casino wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance;
• displaying, on the electronic display device, a wagering game having an array of symbol positions on a plurality of primary reels, and at least one secondary reel overlaying two or more adjacent primary reels, the at least one secondary reel including at least one oversized symbol, the oversized symbol overlaying symbol positions on the overlaid adjacent primary reels, the oversized symbol being a standard symbol;
• determining, by at least one of one or more processors and independent of player selection, at least one of a position or a width of the at least one secondary reel;
• and
• spinning, on the electronic display device, the primary reels and the at least one secondary reel such that the overlaid adjacent primary reels and the at least one secondary reel are visually grafted together and appear to spin together as a single reel;
• stopping, by at least one of the one or more processors, the primary reels and the at least one secondary reel at independent respective stopping positions that represent an outcome of the casino wagering game, the outcome being based, at least in part, on one or more random elements generated by a random element generator, the overlaid adjacent primary reels and the at least one secondary reel being stopped simultaneously;
• and
• receiving, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

A casino gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing at least one casino wagering game comprising:

• an electronic display device coupled to the gaming machine;
• one or more electronic input devices coupled to the gaming machine;
• and
• one or more controllers configured to:
• detect, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance,
• initiate the casino wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance,
• direct the electronic display device to display the casino wagering game having a plurality of primary reels and at least one secondary reel, each of the primary reels having a plurality of symbols thereon, the at least one secondary reel having at least one oversized symbol thereon,
• determine a width of the at least one secondary reel independent of player selection, the width ranging from two primary reels to all of the primary reels of the plurality,
• overlay, on the electronic display device, two or more adjacent primary reels of the plurality with the at least one secondary reel,
• spin, on the electronic display device, the primary reels and the at least one secondary reel such that the overlaid adjacent primary reels and the at least one secondary reel are visually grafted together and appear to spin as a single reel,
• stop, on the electronic display device, the primary reels and the at least one secondary reel at independent respective stopping positions that, together, represent the outcome of the casino wagering game, the overlaid adjacent primary reels and the at least one secondary reel being stopped simultaneously, and
• receive, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.