hacksaw slot showed 500x tease then paid like 12x, am i reading ways wrong

Got a quick one for you all. Was spinning a hacksaw slot - one of those with the all-ways pay - and got that classic “huge” setup where you see the right symbols at the start. It flashes the potential and starts counting lines and my brain’s screaming 500x, but it ends up dumping out a lame 12x. Am I missing something about how these paylines or ways actually add up, or is the slot just baiting us with teases as usual?

I've played plenty of blackjack and poker so I like to think I read probabilities decently, but these slots seem to play by their own rules. The way it lays out the “almost” hits feels more theatrical than anything. Anyone else notice these teases getting more common? Wondering if it's a deliberate design or just classic gambler’s illusion. Looking to figure out if I just misread the mechanics, or if I should chalk it up to slots doing their thing again.