Wayne Smith: Fatherhood, casino business, and the importance of a strong work ethic

Welcome to Season 5 Episode 23 Featuring- Wayne Smith

We sit down with Oaklawn Casino and Racing GM Wayne Smith to trace an unlikely path from one college accounting class to a global hospitality career, Vegas casinos, and leading a premier racing casino resort. Along the way we talk work ethic, mentors, family, music, sports, and what legacy really means.

• growing up in Rhode Island and learning discipline at military school
• discovering accounting and gaining range through Northeastern’s co‑op
• saying yes to a headhunter and auditing hotels worldwide
• breaking into Vegas casinos and learning operations on the floor
• moving from finance to GM with help from mentors
• what a casino resort GM actually does day to day
• leadership rules of thumb like inspect what you expect
• family balance, marriage as partnership, and setting shared goals
• music tastes from Prince to Pink Floyd and DJ stories
• sports fandom, the 90s Cowboys, and Yankees memories
• career advice on happiness, choices, and staying open
• defining legacy through honesty, work, and lifting others

"I'm not the smartest person in the room, but i'll out work anyone"

Thank you guys for the support with that button and allows us to keep going the comments and allows us to keep having comments like this.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Wayne Smith
• 2:20 From Rhode Island To Hospitality
• 6:50 Parents, Discipline, And Work Ethic
• 12:50 Military School And Early Career Pivots
• 18:50 Northeastern Co‑op And First Jobs
• 24:50 Entering Casinos And Vegas Breakthrough
• 31:20 Music, DJ Days, And Influences
• 36:50 Career Moves: Detroit, St. Louis, New York, Chicago
• 43:20 What A GM Actually Does
• 49:20 Mentors, Advancement, And Leadership
• 54:50 Family, Marriage, And Balance

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:46

Of phone five if we could come along with form of our five or uh episode twenty four and now we're continuing to move forward with the numbers of what we're doing. So what better way to do then we're gonna come on up for today? Uh give me some five o'clock on the look at one.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 1:15

Uh just really quickly, how are you doing? I was like, Well, sir.

SPEAKER_01: 1:18

Very good, thank you. Thank you. It's gotten a little cold over here in Arkansas, and uh so I was a little bit shocked this morning. But apart from that, uh all good.

SPEAKER_02: 1:26

Yes, sir. Well, look what really quickly. I always love for my guests to kind of just introduce themselves to people watching and listening. So if you don't mind, could you just briefly uh just you know brag about yourself a little bit, honestly, just maybe uh what you do in your life now, uh where you're from, uh a little bit of your upbringing and what you have done to get you where you are today. Just who are you as a person?

SPEAKER_01: 1:47

Sure, certainly. Yeah. My name is Wayne Smith. I'm the general manager of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort here in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Uh been here for about nine and a half years. Um got a uh uh got a family, my my wife Audrey, and uh two sons, Riley and Dylan. Uh Riley's 27 and Dylan is 16, junior in high school, trying to follow in your footsteps um in the broadcasting world, um, and then ultimately to trying to decide what college he wants to go to. Um he's kind of narrowed it down to a Notre Dame in Missouri, it looks like, so far. So we'll see where all this goes. But but uh, anyways, uh just um I'm originally from Rhode Island, um, so you don't hear the Arkansas accent. Uh that's that's for a reason. Uh grew up on the East Coast, um, actually went to uh uh went went to ultimately went to two two universities, University of Rhode Island for for a little bit of time, and then uh ultimately uh graduated from Northeastern University in Boston. Um I I graduated with an accounting degree and um ultimately uh um worked my way through the finance side of life, um public accounting, hotels, uh, work for Sheridan for a number of years, and then um worked my way out to Vegas, got into the casino world, and I've been in the casino world since the early 90s, and um and uh now here in Arkansas after moving around to many different cities uh from Vegas to um to Detroit to St. Louis to New York to Chicago and then here. So um been around the block, uh started in the finance world on the casino side, and then uh worked my way into the uh um the general manager role or basically overseeing all operations of a uh of a casino resort um aspect. And then uh coming to Arkansas here in Hot Springs, coming to Oaklawn, I I've now added a uh thorough thoroughbred racetrack. So we're we're one of the top thoroughbred racetracks in the country. We race um uh in the beginning of December, December 12th this year through May 2nd every weekend um during that that time frame. Uh if you you'll recall, I don't know if you follow the Kentucky Derby at all, but two years ago, Mystic Dan was the winner of that, owned by four um Arkansas groups. And um and ultimately Mystic Dan uh actually uh started his career at Oakland uh during the winter uh program. So a lot of our horses go on to to to big heights uh after they they leave Oakland, whether it's the Kentucky Derby or uh bigger races, even after that. We've had a number of horses that this weekend in the Breeders' Cup. So uh yeah, we um it's I've got a pretty diverse background, but most of it all is in hospitality in some in some fashion or form.

SPEAKER_02: 4:43

Um I'm gonna jump the gun around a lot or with you. I'm gonna jump around a lot with you. But I you you say that ending statement, hospitality. Um, I kind of just want to know when when did that become an idea for you? At what age did that become uh, okay, this is what I wanted to do with my life, this is where I I wanted to go working. Like what age did that become an idea and and and honestly, how? Like, why was that thought process something that you wanted to do with your life, Mr. Smith?

SPEAKER_01: 5:08

I will tell you, Dalen, I can't say that it was ever it was ever in the cards when I was growing up. I never saw it happening, I never saw it coming. Uh where I grew up uh in Rhode Island, we didn't hospitality just wasn't a thing. You know, I I grew up in uh in a town, small town um on the ocean, and and uh I ended up uh um my my father was uh was a fireman, uh uh retired as a fire firefighter, and then became a uh ferry captain, uh, taking uh cars and and and and people uh to a small island off the coast of Rhode Island called Block Island. And um and I kind of followed in his footsteps working on the ferries when I was a kid. And um and uh ultimately I went to a military high school in Virginia, um so uh called Fork Union Military Academy. And um during that time met a lot of different people, obviously from around the world, different, different diverse backgrounds. Um but when I came back, I I honestly thought I was gonna be an electrical engineer. One of my uncles was, and so I figured that might be the best way to go. But my my mom was uh uh worked in a bank and then ultimately um uh uh was a a a manager manager manager of condominiums and things of that nature. Uh so I'd really never had a business background around me. I had uh my my uh my family built houses. Um so it wasn't uh like I knew what I wanted to do when I was growing up, other than maybe be an electrical engineer essentially and build houses and that that that kind of thing. And then realized early on that wasn't what I wanted to do. Honestly, this is gonna sound weird, but I took a I took an accounting class. Um, it was the only class that I got an A on. And uh so I said, you know what? Accounting seems to be pretty easy. Maybe I'll maybe I'll maybe I'll try accounting. That's how it's how it started. I'll be perfectly honest with you. I got ended up going to Northeastern University, and um what was cool about Northeastern is they have a co-op program. I don't know if you heard about the co-op programs, but um essentially you go to school for a semester or two and then you work for a semester or two, but it's all part of the college program, part of the university. And um, so that got me exposed to a couple of accounting firms um doing some doing some taxes, and then ended up thinking that I wanted to go into public accounting when I graduated, got a job out out of school, um, working for a public accounting firm, realized that wasn't what I wanted to do, and then a headhunter reached out to me, didn't know what a headhunter was at the at the time. This is early 90s now, and this is going way, way back. Um and uh and then uh just um uh they said, Hey, we have a position at Sheridan Hotels. It was an internal audit position, and they said that if you uh if you take this, we um internal audit travels all over the world to different hotels around the world that you can audit. And I was like, okay, that's you mean I can travel the world and I can audit hotels and um do that for a job. And they were like, yep, this is what you do. And so for three years I traveled all over the world. Um, and that's that's how I got in hospitality, honestly. It was through that that that deal, um, uh going in as an internal auditor and then uh learning the business, understanding the front of house, back of house. And um, and then that's and then ultimately ITT Sheridan at the time had bought the Desert Inn uh in Vegas and Caesars Palace. And uh so they needed help as an intern, they needed an internal auditor to go help on the casino side of the Desert Inn. And that's how I got in the casinos. They said, hey, we need somebody to go out there and help. And I said, I'm in. Let me, I'd love to go check it out. Didn't know what Vegas was at the time. Landed in Vegas, thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Um, that was that was that was the that that was the place for me. And so I I and I've been in casinos ever since.

SPEAKER_02: 9:19

I love that because I think there are people that are my age in college and are so fixated on the the perfect story or you know, having everything together, or even right before college that are trying to figure out how do I make this make sure this journey is perfect. Uh, and I love to hear that yours necessarily, you know, wasn't in the the ranks of understanding what you wanted to do until a little bit later on until your young adult life. So I love to hear that. Um you mentioned your parents and your father. Uh I just want to ask you, just describe describe your parents and the impact they had on your life and what they meant to who you are today.

SPEAKER_01: 9:53

Uh yeah, so my my uh both of them worked hard. I mean, back back then you didn't have a choice. Um we didn't grow up with with a whole lot. Um, but uh we didn't want for anything, let's put it that way. Um, and uh strict uh parents, but ultimately in the end, um uh what they taught me was work ethic, yeah. Get you where you want to be. And um there was no excuses. And it was um, and and uh quite honestly I'm I'm so glad I I I had that upbringing um because had I not, I don't know where I would have been and what I would have done, to be quite honest with you. I probably uh there's a lot of different jobs that I could have gone into and a lot of different places I could have gone, um, but uh they didn't allow me to go that that route uh as much as I wanted to become at one time a state trooper. Um there were friends of ours that wanted me to go in the state room and they were like, uh-uh, that ain't gonna happen. And then uh I wanted to follow my father as a firefighter. And uh he said, no, that's not gonna happen. You're gonna go to school, you're gonna go to college. And um, so I'm very, very thankful that they directed me in that in that way. Um, but uh they worked hard. They worked very, very hard. You know, we they they it it didn't matter day or night, they were working, and so that's what I saw as a role model, uh, and um and that's what they did, and that's what they showed me. And then um uh not having the wherewithal, but they figured it out by sending me to a military school. I know this sounds sounds weird. I didn't go to military school because I was I was a I I needed it, you know, I wasn't one of those disciplined uh uh challenged folks. Um I had enough discipline at at home, military school um wasn't wasn't a reason for me to go. Actually, I went because my parents thought that I needed to be challenged on on the school front. And uh, and so I did it. And um, quite honestly, again, that was another decision that I really didn't want to make. I didn't want to do it, but they kind of they didn't force me to go, but they didn't, they, they encouraged me greatly to go. And um, I'm so glad I did because it really did set forth the ability for me to understand that school and and focusing in on schoolwork and getting good grades, all of those things mattered. Uh, and it really helped me get to to the college that I wanted to get to and those types of things. And and again, the biggest thing that I I I can tell anybody is if you just work hard and you just figure out and you and you what I always I always say, I'm not the smartest person in the room, but I'll uh I'll outwork anybody. Yeah, you know, and and um and that's that's that's always been what I've been able to do my my whole life. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 12:39

I love that because if my mom is watching this at some point she'll laugh at what you said because I say that all the time. It's not it's that I don't know where I would be without my mom. Uh and I thank God that he wouldn't allow me to go down some of the routes that I'll probably end up wanting to. And so I I love that you want to make that point. And I also want to continue bottling on the fact that form that we want to talk about or more impact that they had on your life. Uh what important uh what are some of the things that maybe they taught you to help make you the father that you are? Uh and as well, what type of relationship did you think you were able to gain with your children because of the relationship that you had with your parents and the things that they installed in you?

SPEAKER_01: 13:22

I think I think what I'm doing now is probably similar to what what they did. Uh I I I I work quite a bit. Um I would say that there's things I I let's put it this way, I don't miss anything that that that they were involved in for sure. Um but they also know that I work a lot. I work, especially in our my business. It's uh it's um what we do in the hospitality business, in the casino business, you name it. Um it's uh you know, it's it's it's routinely six days a week. Yeah. Um it's nights, weekends, uh, it's holidays. Um you have to, but it's something you you you uh um you sign up for, right? Uh not it's not for everybody. I'll I'll be perfectly honest with you. Uh it's not we have we hire many people that say, oh, I can easily work a holiday, you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas and those types of things. So you may work Christmas during the day in the morning, and you may have to have Christmas, Christmas dinner at uh at night, whereas no normally you may have it in the morning or or or afternoon. Um and uh uh so hopefully I I'm I'm teaching them that hard work pays off, uh meaning that it's it's meaningful, and um, and and you can't um one of the things I I try to I try to tell these guys, I always tell tell Dylan um and I I tried to tell Riley um when when he was growing up too, was that um was that you know it's it's uh be great, just be great.

SPEAKER_02: 14:55

I love that. I'm gonna show you. I have a wristband that I just took out, but I wear it it says be legendary.

SPEAKER_01: 15:00

Nice.

SPEAKER_02: 15:00

So I love that you say that as well. Um again, I'm gonna stay on family. Just um what does it mean to be a husband? Um, and what did some of the things that your father may have taught you to be a proper husband to your wife?

SPEAKER_01: 15:15

Well, it's always a work in progress, I will tell you. That's that's not, I mean, being a dad, being a being uh being a husband is not is it's it's it's an everyday thing, right? It's it's it's it's it's focusing on it every day. Quite honestly, um Audrey and I got together late late in life. Um we uh um uh we had had separate relationships. Um Riley was was from a previous father, um, and and and Dylan is is is ours uh combined. But we uh but yeah, Audrey and I have been together 20 years um before that. I was I'd been married before. So learn learned a lot of lessons on what not to do and and and and and how to do. But I will tell you the one thing and the reason why Audrey and I are together is because we're two Ps in a pod. Um because we uh she understands what it takes to get to where you want to be, and where um and where as a family we can be comfortable and we can do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and how we want to do it. Um but the only way we can do that is to is to work hard. And um, and and she does the exact same same thing. So she spent a lot of time when Dylan was born, actually when we got married, and then when Dylan was born, uh she was a stay-at-home mom. She actually worked um before I met her. She was a she was a hard worker. Um and um then when we met, we made the decision that we would uh that that she would stay at home. Um and so she took care of the house. She took care, she took care of Riley and ultimately the two of them when Dylan was was born, and and um and she ran the house, she ran everything, and I worked, and and as you can imagine, she was understanding of what it took that I was gonna not gonna be home on a weekend night or or that we weren't gonna go to this event because or I couldn't go and she went um with with friends or or or what have you. But she you have to have a spouse that is understanding of what the of what of what we agreed to, right? The if if if we want something, this is what it takes to get it, right? And so uh now she now that Dylan's gotten older and into high school, she's actually opened her own businesses. Um and uh so she she runs a couple of gift boutiques that are that are hers. And um, she does and she works, she works harder than anybody, you know, as a small business owner, as you can imagine in today's world, it's it's not always easy. Um and uh so I I would say the husband that my dad was is somewhat what I'm trying to be is just uh uh understanding, um, knowing that that uh she has goals in life and she and she has things that she wants to do, and just be and and and and we do that together as as a partnership.

SPEAKER_02: 18:00

Um I want to jump back to you kind of in high school, and I want to just I want to ask you what was your process in deciding at that time to go to Rhode Island University? Uh and and as well, maybe what were some of the other schools that you were considering going to and what made that ultimate factor for you to kind of stay close to home and go to Rhode Island?

SPEAKER_01: 18:20

So you want you want to address so I had gone to a high school in Virginia, my parents stayed in Rhode Island, and so my high school at Fort Union uh was in Virginia, so that was a long ways away. I didn't get home very much because we didn't have the money to go back and forth all the time. Um, but uh when I graduated high school, or when I was looking to graduate from high school, there were a few other schools, I forget what it was. I I think I I I think I applied to UNC, University of North Carolina. I only I only thought about that that place because Jordan was going there, so I just always follow Michael Jordan for some reason. Um and uh um I think there was a couple of uh uh other schools that but I did apply to University of Rhode Island because I thought I had been away for so long during that that time, during that high school years. Uh so I've kind of lost track of the k kids I grew up with and all that. So I wanted to go back home and just be a part of being back home. But I realized very early on over the first couple of years, going to University of Rhode Island. Um one, like I mentioned, uh um it wa uh electrical engineering wasn't exactly all that I wanted it to be, um, even though I thought I could do it, uh, just wasn't what I wanted to do. Plus, I don't necessarily know that I focused as much on on college as I should have, um, being going back home and getting caught up with with with all the people that I had lost track of before. Yeah. Uh so it was pretty in the end, when you look back on it, it was pretty stupid for me to have done that. But anyways, I wouldn't be probably the person that I am today. So ended up uh uh uh straightening up on that on that front and then going to Northeastern. So really it was only the only reason why I went to University of Rhode Island was just to go back home because I had been away for so long.

SPEAKER_02: 20:04

If you could uh go back in time and talk to college Wayne Smith, what what would you tell that 18 to 22 year old? Like what advice? What what what would maybe what'd be a what would what would be a message you want to tell uh yourself if you were in college right now, if you were able to talk to college youth?

SPEAKER_01: 20:21

Where do you come up with these questions? This is top notch. Um well I'll I'll be honest with you. I would I would say uh um you know just keep doing what what you're doing. Uh there's probably a few a few uh um silly, stupid things that I that I probably would tell you don't do. Um but uh but we won't go into those uh today. Um but in the end, when you look back, when I look back on it, if I if I didn't, if I hadn't have put the effort and worked as hard as I did and understood that at it there were times back then, actually I will tell you too, I was a DJ back then too. Um so I I I DJ'd quite a bit. Um there was a path at one time that I was gonna go to producing school and just follow that route as opposed to going into the business route. Um so it was uh there was there was a time, and that's uh go back to the parents again. Um that's that's when that's when uh uh mom had a uh had a few choice words when that was uh when that was uh posted in in in the forefront of my brain that this was the direction I was gonna go and that uh that didn't go over very well. Uh and uh um and so uh but no I think back then going back going back just to say look you it'll all be fine uh in the end it all worked out great or it will or it will all work out great because it has. I mean I'm I I I I honestly am thankful that a lot I did a lot of the things that I did uh and that I enjoyed quite honestly the DJing piece was awesome. Um I had so much fun DJing. I I had a radio show, I did DJed at nightclubs and and um and did all that uh through through the through the through the late 80s and um really enjoyed that quite quite a bit. Um but um just realized that that necessarily wasn't gonna pay the bills and wasn't the direction that um that I I thought maybe was the best best choice. But all that to say is long-winded way to say going back. I would say look, everything's gonna be fine. Um you did the things that that that you did, it made you a better person. You realized from your mistakes, and you um and and you are and and and and you moved on and and it and now now look at you.

SPEAKER_02: 22:37

Yeah. Okay, I have to ask this now because I wasn't gonna do it until later on. I want to know what are some of your favorite music artists ever, who are your favorite maybe bands, favorite songs ever. And now that you mentioned that, what were some of your go-to songs that you had to play when you were in a club? Like what were some of the vibes like in the 80s for you when you were DJing?

SPEAKER_01: 23:01

All right. Um so I will tell you some of the stuff that I played back then was uh Little Brass Monkey, okay, boys. Um, I would say a little MJ um with uh Pretty Young Thing and those types of things. You know, Michael Jackson, uh my favorite artist. Uh I I am a I am a connoisseur of music from the 70s to the 80s to the 60s to the 50s. My dad was actually has a record collection from the 50s and 60s that would rival anybody's. Um he has probably a thousand four 45s um going back to the real, you know, the Beatles and the Beach Boys and the Elvis Presley's and the and you know going way, way back. Um, but um uh I would say my favorite artist of all time is Prince.

unknown: 23:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 23:52

Um I love all of his obscure stuff. Yeah, his popular stuff is his popular stuff, right? But if you go back and you listen to to hit his albums, um that's one of my favorites. Some of my go-to albums is probably um, if you look at album-wise, go back to Boston's uh third stage album. You can go back to Dire Straits, um their album. Uh Pink Floyd was one that I went to sleep with every night. I always tell tell Dylan that was the the wall or money. Those were uh those were the albums that were I would sneak in my uh when I was in um uh when I was in military school, I would sneak when we went to bed, I would put the headphones on and I would listen to uh Pink Floyd the Wall on cassette tape now. Not on you guys don't know anything about these cassette tapes. Um but uh anyways, that was uh that that was always good stuff. And um, but yeah, all the way through the I I listen, I'm I listen to all the 90s, the 2000s. I'm not necessarily up on some of your your today's rappers on, but uh my some of my favorite rappers, I love Jay-Z, MM. Um, I listen to a lot of them all the time. And um uh yeah, I mean I I I grew up when rap first came up with the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. You know, I had all I had all that stuff back then.

SPEAKER_02: 25:12

Yeah. But you are the second straight guest. I had Jay Harris from ESPN on last episode, and he said Prince was his favorite of all time, too. So I think Prince is went went along well with a lot of people. He Prince was my mother's favorite artist as well, too.

SPEAKER_01: 25:26

So I love my mother then.

SPEAKER_02: 25:28

So I love the Prince that uh I want to ask you, uh, what persuaded you to go to Boston and and and attend Northeastern University? What what decision made that uh the factor for you to go to Northeastern?

SPEAKER_01: 25:43

So I I I I thought that I that Rhode Island was University of Rhode Island was was was kind of the um uh I I it it it had kind of worn worn off its welcome. Um and um and I and I felt that I had to do something different. Uh and ironically, this is and this is something that we can get into in a little bit, but uh relationships. And my mom knew somebody that had gone to Northeastern and accounting, um, or uh somewhere in the finance side or accounting side or something, some degree. I forget what it what it was, but I forgot and I don't remember who the individual was, to be honest with you. I remember sitting in front of him and and um and she had uh known somebody and and Northeastern came up and that's where he had gone. And uh he said, Hey, you should really think about this, about this, this opportunity. And so and so I um and so I did it, uh, and and I applied and um and and they took me in. And um, and then that was uh um and the rest is is history, quite honestly. Um I actually what was interesting about doing that is that I had a roommate named Todd Sylvanas, great, great guy. I'm still he's a one wonderful guy, he lives in St. Louis now. Um, but uh I had a roommate then, and um he and another guy named Mario, um, who was the was the G A at the time or the RA of the place that we lived, we ended up becoming really close friends and and uh and they taught me the um what it was like to be in the business world or to work in a business environment, in an office environment, understand what all that means. Uh because I had nobody, I had no no role models in that in that field. You know, what is it like to work work as part of a team and those types of things? And and so um, and so that's uh the Northeastern was a great stepping stone into me actually going into the business world. I'm glad I made the move, to be honest.

SPEAKER_02: 27:41

When you graduated from Northeastern, what was the the the thought or the mindset afterwards? You know, did you have jobs lined up? What were you trying to figure out what were you gonna do? What was like the next step for you after you graduated college?

SPEAKER_01: 27:55

Yeah, very fortunate Northeastern, as I mentioned earlier, the co-op program, co-op program got me in into different into different businesses. So I was able to do taxes for a season, um, where you go, you know, you that was part of your work, essentially work study internship type deal. You were still getting paid. Um, but then I uh um I in my in my senior year, I was uh um the spring, I think, of senior year, um we ended up uh um meeting with I interviewed in with a bunch of the accounting firms, local accounting, excuse me, local accounting firms and national accounting firms. There was there was a big six back then in the accounting world. I think now it's the big four or something like that, Deloitte Douche and Arthur Anderson and all those types of at the school uh of businesses, um accounting firms. But we uh there was um there were two smaller regional ones, Panel Curve Foster and BDO. Um and um and uh I had interview with both of them and I got an offer from I I forget if it was Deloitte or one of them, the big six, and then I got an offer from Panel Curve Foster. Um and they were a regional firm. And the thing that turned me on with the regional firm was um they were offering me the ability to go and get into different industries. Um so I so from an audit perspective, I was able to audit manufacturing, I was able to audit um hospitality, so I did country clubs, a hotel, and then I did uh move movie theaters um uh and and and some and some other and some other cool uh opera operations. Um and then uh if I had gone to Deloitte and Touche, I would have been stuck on mutual funds for for a couple of years. So they gave me a real good opportunity. And so that's why I picked Panel Kerr Foster a little less money. Um I think it was a couple grand less. Um, but uh but I ended up uh going there. And because of that, when that headhunter called me from Sheridan a couple of years later, because I realized public accounting, when I got into public accounting, it was fun, the audit piece was fun, but I didn't I didn't I didn't see myself going down that path. And I didn't really I didn't really care about the CPA type type deal. Uh because I wasn't I wasn't that wasn't my gig. Once I realized I was in it, it wasn't I wasn't I wasn't enamored by it, let's put it that way. And so I realized this wasn't the path I was going to take. just ironically I get a call from a headhunter which I had never knew what a headhunter was um and uh and so um they offered me this job at at Sheridan and it was because I had had hospitality experience in this in the public accounting firm that they took me instead of some other candidates so that's how I traveled the world and quite honestly I'm a guy I'm a guy from Rhode Island man I didn't I didn't know what the what the rest of the world was I was lucky if I got off the east east coast actually I never went went off the east coast to be honest with you up until that time and then I was traveling to England and Sweden and Cairo and and Thailand and Australia and I was going I went everywhere around the world for for for for three years and it was uh you know Buenos Aires and Lima Peru and all all these hotels and stuff so it was it was pretty overwhelming man it was it was unbelievable to be honest. So um but uh I was very very very very very very fortunate to be able to get into the position I was able to do and then land myself in Vegas so I see uh I see that cowboys avenue sign behind you cowboys uh just talk about I I know I know I don't I don't that's why I was kind of butchering about talking about it but I had to just come on bring it it's our what are what are what are some of your sports teams and uh as well what does that that cowboys logo mean to you um cow the cowboy logo today means pain and suffering is what it means um I've had 30 years of pain and suffering uh the 90s were some of the best years of my life being a cowboy fan um and uh uh I I love one of my favorite cowboys is Tony Romo I love loved watching him him play but we could never get a team around him um or defense it's kind of like what Dak's getting today yeah um so it's been very painful I'm so sorry to Dylan that I that I made him a cowboy fan uh I didn't get to Riley early enough he's a Patriot fan uh New England Patriot which is not bad I mean I follow the Patriots because I love Tom Brady and my dad but um uh I'm a I'm a Yankee fan um again some more pain um and uh um but uh uh yeah I I grew up I grew up in Rhode Island I should have been a Red Sox fan but my dad was my grew grew up in in New York in New York City and so he was a Yankee fan and so he made me a Yankee fan. So yeah yeah it was cool.

SPEAKER_02: 32:47

Uh what what were because I wasn't able to experience that what were what were some of those 90s moments like for you as a cowboys saying winning those Super Bowls and watching Troy Aikman and and Emmonsmith and all those guys Michael Irvin what what were those times like for you man?

SPEAKER_01: 33:00

It was unbelievable and quite honestly getting to that point was um was uh was uh it's a little bit of a story so so uh I was a cowboy fan growing up and the only reason why I was a cowboy fan was because that was the team that was on TV all the time back in the 70s. So you don't know anything about the 70s back then that's when we had that's that that that's when I was the remote control. If if the channel need to be turned you had to get up and turn it you didn't have a remote control to do that. But the only games that were on were the Steelers and the Cowboys mostly back then and so I became a cowboy fan because you could watch them on on TV that's when the Starbuck the Starbuck days and Pearsons and Tony Dorsett's um and then uh yeah when we got into when when the 80s were happening horrible uh and and then um and then the Jimmy Johnson got the team and it was very difficult to see Tom Landry go. However, interestingly enough I was very very excited about Jimmy Johnson because I followed him at Miami because there was a guy that played back in Miami called Vinny Testaverde you remember that name I do so when I was in Fork Union Military Academy um back in the early 90s uh back I'm sorry back in the early 80s uh testoverti was a postgraduate at fork union and so we always the postgraduates um uh when they left us they came in for one year they had already graduated high school they came in for one more year to get to get their skill sets up and then ultimately get get um better offers and he ended up going to Miami starring at Miami so we all at Fork Union followed Vinny um and other players um that were like that were like that and so that's how I got to know that Jimmy Johnson was was that's how I got to follow Jimmy Johnson. And so I was very excited for Jimmy Johnson but then he had two horrible years and then all of a sudden he did them did the miraculous Herschel Walker trade and then that uh so that the the the 90s were great to be a cowboy fan for a good five years there five six six years things were just wonderful. You you knew you had a chance yeah right and then um and then Jimmy and Jerry and I still haven't let Jerry off the hook on that one should have never let Jimmy because we would have we would have been the Patriots of the 90s had that not had that not happened. But uh anyways that's that's a long story but it kind of kind of but the the then the 90s were were were great and then the Yankees um in the late 90s uh took the mantle once the Cowboys started sliding backwards um and the Yankees were just on fire for a good seven years seven eight years uh that was wonderful yeah um but I will tell you um so the Yankees won again in 2009 uh the the last time that they they they won a championship actually Dylan was born uh that year in 2009 um but the coolest um was it 2000 it was 2009 but it was in October so it was the world series so we I was able to take my dad to the world series game which was really really cool I had some great partnerships with yes network and and um so I was able to take him to him to the game that's cool yeah it was it was that that that was fun to be able to take him to to something like like that. Yeah that's amazing I love that yeah it's fun um could you talk about your jump start into the the casino world I know you talked about Vegas and New York and Detroit but just talk about uh the start of that for you and and essentially how did all that end up for you being in Hot Springs Arkansas so um let's see Vegas I go to Vegas internal audit side of life and then and the thing about internal audit is that you get to learn the business from from the inside out. So you get all the way all the way from from the bottom uh you you learn everything about from the finance side to the HR side to the to the casino side all the regulations that around around the casino um and even in the hotel side so um so I was able to learn quite a bit about about the business and um and uh just moved my way up into uh um uh I met a friend of mine that ended up being uh getting into the operations and into the accounting department uh the casino accounting department uh took me in as his assistant casino controller at MGM Grand in in Vegas the big green building and um from there just work my my way up into a director position again just going back to what we talked about and and learning from my parents was was uh hard work was if you didn't know it you learned it uh and as I told you earlier uh um again not the smartest guy in the room never have been never will be but I'll always outwork anybody in the room uh and so I made sure that again just worked hard just made just uh I learned and I was by day I was in the accounting department but at night and on weekends I would go up on the casino floor and um I was lucky enough to have people that would show me the business teach me table games teach me slots teach me how to how to deal with players um and understand what players why they play what they play how they play what they play um quite honestly I learned how to be around uh celebrities you know the likes of uh Tiger Woods Michael Jordan Charles Barclay all those people that were out there back then got to see Prince a couple of times play there um and just how to treat them how to look at them differently how to not bother them how to be how to how to be around celebrities and things taught me quite a bit back in those MGM days and and um just was able to move up because I showed that not only am I focused on my area i.e the accounting side but was able to learn the operations and ultimately that that got me to to to Detroit um opening I had the MGM asked me to go and open up the MGM Detroit and then I got married to Audrey um after I'd been there for a while and then that's when we moved to um we moved together to St. Louis for a couple of years and then had an opportunity in New York uh to go that was closer to being back back home. She was from Connecticut and I was from Rhode Island so being in New York was was um was just doing that was just going back and that gave me the opportunity to become ultimately become a GM and to oversee the whole operation not just the accounting compliance side of life so um and then I moved over to to to Chicago for a couple years and then got got asked to come down down here to Oakland. I this may be a broad question but uh I could could you possibly I guess first we describe what you actually do because I know when people hear the term general manager of Oklahoma couldn't or I think you probably do a lot of things like what obviously I know you can't talk about everything but like quickly in a way talk about what it is you actually do or maybe as well in a way could you like give a day-to-day breakdown for people watching and listening understanding like what time you get up what time you may get home on a on a particular day if there's an event going on like what does your day look like as well okay um let's see uh so what do I do I guess what you could say is um if I can use maybe a sports analogy I'm kind of the head coach and then I have coaches for each department so what we call we we have so so we break it down we break the organization down in into departments um marketing uh finance uh human resources um hospitality facilities meaning those that those folks that that uh build that work on all the electron all the things that go on around the property a door a door gets busted or or window breaks or um uh um ac uh your ac units all of those types of things are part of the facilities team um and then we have a racing side as well so each one of those departments has a vice president and so i've i'm in charge of essentially I'm in charge of all of those departments they all report to me everything goes goes through through through me but the thing about it is it's no different than in a sports sports world yeah the head coach has to rely on and make sure that he hires the best people for those positions yeah so that he doesn't have to be the one that has to run each one of those areas. Does that make sense? So within within each one of those areas then they have um levels of people and areas within their area within their departments of who they have to oversee. And so basically it's just uh from a top down um and then my my role quite honestly daily is to is to just keep up with making sure that um that we that uh myself and the the other seven vps that we have here um set the tone set the standards set the set the expectations um and then every day following up um a term that I use consistently and have for years I I I I learned it from a for from a previous mentor um it's called inspect what you expect so if you're setting if you're setting the standards and you ask people to do um to make sure that um that the bathroom's cleaned for instance um you have to go and inspect it periodically to make sure that it's clean to the standards that you ask them to clean it. So that's why you say inspect what you expect. And um so I uh again I I I have to follow that rule and then we try to implement that and make sure that everybody follows that same that that that that that same rule. And we have a we have a lot of people here. We have 950 people that work here year round and so it's a it's a it's a fairly big job but my my role is truly just one that just is is more is more helping people be successful and trying to do everything we can to understand to have people understand that Wayne Smith did not start out as a general manager. You I mentioned it earlier right I started out working on ferry boats and built actually when I was nine years old I was helping my my my family my uncles and my grandfather build houses um so I you know I didn't I didn't come into this into this GM role um right right out of college. It took many many years of working in different areas and to your point earlier a lot of kids to these days don't know what they want to do where they want to be it looks like you're very fortunate it looks like you've kind of uh we knew what you wanted to do and you worked very hard to get here um Dylan for instance he knew at when he was eight years old that he wanted to be on ESPN yeah you know um I wasn't that guy I didn't know what the heck I wanted to do back back then and um and so we I I try to do that on a daily basis just trying to make sure that everybody understands that that hey if you work hard you can be you can be sitting in my chair and I'm hopeful that someday when I leave we're giving it to somebody who worked their way up through the ranks at Oakland and um will ultimately take take the chair. You know so I um so we we that's always the goal you always want to try to promote from within but that's the but so so anyways that's that's my role um and uh um and so it's it's uh you know I was always in the finance side but before I got into the operation side which was ultimately the GM role but um and I was CFO for a number of years at different properties but this was always kind of the kind of the goal the goal was to try to become a become a GM and uh I will tell you I didn't learn that until I was an MGM in Vegas. I didn't know that that was the that was that was even there was even a path for me to go that that that route I was lucky enough to have a couple of mentors that really got me to that to that level. In fact the guy that hired me at MGM a guy named David Chan we're still best of friends now he actually comes and does some work for us here as a consultant um he'll actually be here next next week he hired me at MGM to be his assistant controller and he actually helped me understand the path from being from where I where he he hired me to being a CFO of a property because I asked him what's it going to take to get to that level. And I was very very fortunate to have him help guide me through that process. And then when I got there was a GM named Scott Snow that ultimately I I used and he helped me create a path to becoming a general manager. And so I will tell people if you can find the right people and you can get the right mentors to get you to a particular level and you work hard and do what you need to do to make it happen. Again it doesn't happen overnight they're not going to hand it to you but in the end that's what that's that's how I was able to get where I am and that as I mentioned that that role that I take is is um is just now more of a coach than it is anything else.

SPEAKER_02: 46:20

Yes sir Mr Smith I'm not gonna age you but how when I ask because how old are you? 59 okay I asked that because I love asking my guest um if there is an end goal and when I say that I mean is Oakland your last stop is there something else greater that you want to do or like what is the end goal for you and your career and what you end up wanting to do if there's any at all.

SPEAKER_01: 46:44

I will tell you uh um the end goal is to be able to retire and enjoy retirement. That's the end goal right I want to be able to I don't want to be one of those those those guys that uh that that that retires and two years later they're they're they're gone you know that that kind of thing. I want to be able to enjoy it um uh so that that that's the end goal um I will tell you that Oaklawn is a place that I could see myself retiring from let's put it that way. However I will tell you and I'll tell like it was with me I'll tell you you just never know what comes down the pike. Yeah life life will take you in mysterious ways just don't just don't shut it out. Because quite honestly I never would have thought that I'd be at Oakland never in a million years. I didn't it's not something I said I'm gonna one day be in Arkansas. Hell I didn't even know I didn't know what what Arkansas had quite honestly the only the only two things I ever knew that came out of Arkans uh out of Arkansas was the University of Arkansas and Bill Clinton. Those are the only two things I ever heard of Arkansas. Never even thought of it being a state that I would live in never never never want never knew anything about living in Arkansas and never knew what I would find here in Hot Springs. Never know this existed. So just never shut anything out never shut any any any um any request to talk about things ever. You just never know where you're gonna be and you never know what's going to happen. But in today's world as I've gotten older and well we're definitely here for another two years till Dylan gets out of high school but but apart from that we could very much see ourselves retiring in hot springs um or certainly retire from working and then whether hot springs is where I stay forever I'm not sure whether it's Florida where there's no taxes and that kind of stuff maybe that might happen too but you just never know. Yeah sure yeah but I seriously though I I don't want and and you're young enough now that you you'll start to get requests you'll start to get offers things will happen to you you're really starting to really uh um uh put your profile out there in a big way not only this podcast but in other ways but but um just know that you just never never never discount an offer and never discount an area that you may want to move to did I want to move to Detroit no um uh quite honestly I've been in Vegas it's 110 degrees there I loved 110 degrees I'll be honest uh did I want to go to 110 below zero in Detroit or Chicago no but it was a means to an end right it ultimately got me uh exposure to other things into into other positions like the CFO position I bet I probably never would have never I wouldn't have had it in the in the um in the time frame in which I did have it right so each each move has been a bit there's there's been a there's been a method and a reason why I moved um and I would and I would highly recommend people just never shut anything out any any request out.

SPEAKER_02: 49:50

Yes sir I love that um and before I get started it's like three that I want to uh and in this part it's called fruitful labor I've been doing it since I started uh the show five years ago but there's two questions and one but I'm gonna go I'll ask you the first part first and I I want you to answer that but uh what advice would you want to give people watching and listening? And when I say it doesn't be it doesn't have to be about you know your work or your career. It can just be you know what's a message that you would want to tell people to have in their minds have in their heart to to move forward in their life and their day and their week what is something that you would want to tell people to to just engage in life and always remember.

SPEAKER_01: 50:25

Yeah and I wouldn't say that I've always done it myself quite honestly I don't know that um that I I I think do what you feel happy and in in in doing find something that you're gonna feel feel joyful in doing because what the last thing you want to do is um is is come to work dreading it. Yeah uh you know um and I can't tell you how many people and this is just I I love what I do or else I wouldn't work as hard as I do and I wouldn't work as much as I do but I also know that that um that if I don't work hard enough if I rest on my on my laurels um I wouldn't be long in my in my position somebody's gonna take it very very quickly so I just don't want that to happen. But I will tell you if you're not happy don't do it. Find something that will make you happy and um if you do it won't feel like work uh and you um because if you because if again if you're not happy um you're gonna be gonna dread it you're gonna it's gonna you you're gonna your family's gonna feel it your coworkers are gonna feel it uh and more importantly you're gonna feel it and if you can and and again that doesn't again you had mentioned it doesn't have to be in this job or one job or whatever job makes you happy just do it and understand that that is that that that that is what your choice is because everybody makes choices in life some make better choices than others but in the end um uh and and being happy could be working at McDonald's being happy could be cleaning floors you know at Bucky's you know cleaning it it it it could be um uh um you know working at Walmart it doesn't matter whatever makes you happy just do it because I d we just don't want we we don't want you to be on uh unhappy when you're working some someplace else thank you uh the second part of this fruits of labor is I'm really big on legacy and when I say about uh you know doing doing things that I want to be remembered for in a positive manner doing things in the in the in the light and wisdom and journey that I want to be doing it in and how I want to do it. So when I ask that I say what is your legacy and what do you want your legacy to be so when people hear the name Wayne Smith what do you want people to always remember about who you were as a person uh that um was honest uh and um hardworking and uh did things the right way um built relationships um didn't didn't burn any bridges and um and and ultimately uh did everything you could to help uh others um below him get to the next level I love that I really do short it's short and and simple but it's very effective I love that Mr.

SPEAKER_02: 53:14

Smith thank you so much um last thing before I get out of get you out of here uh dinner with three people dead or alive who would that be in a while uh I knew I was gonna get you with that one uh yeah that's a that's that's that's that's that's that's horrific um and I and and if you want Grace I'll give you five if that helps out or if that makes it worse is to do three.

SPEAKER_01: 53:35

All right how about uh how how about you as you as number one the uh here's the deal uh let's see well certainly Prince um would have been one of them um I would have I would love to have had dinner with um with Ronald Reagan okay um uh and uh let's see who else would I um oh it's off the top the top of my head uh oh oh Jack Welsh okay Jack Welsh with ID yeah uh yeah he was um that he was intriguing I would have loved to have I because I don't think I manage as well as I should as I should on a day-to-day basis and I I wish that I could have somebody uh uh with with his what he was able to do um and I don't have a creative bone in my body to be honest with you but Walt Disney would have been a cool one uh to to have dinner with because ultimately you're um uh one who was creative but what he was able to build um all those many many many moons ago um with with with Disney um would have been some something special yes sir I love that's uh that's a fun dinner table right there yeah and and then you know maybe a few a little little fun fun things would have been Madonna um would have been a good one and maybe a little little jennifer Lopez how's that I love that I love that that's like my favorite question asked you because I never want to get to everyone out and I make them think really hard but as well I get to get a little bit of a dynamic about the things that you guys love.

SPEAKER_02: 55:16

So I love that. Thank you so much for giving some of your time uh I enjoyed the heck out of this conversation and uh I'm so grateful we were following what to get this time and a lot of so grateful for you and so thankful that's all again that's that's a that's a lot to you again thank for thank for all that you do for my comments I appreciate you guys on the in the comments comments you got for the point with that button and allows us to keep going the comments and allows us to keep having comments like this. We will like comments and funny in the purpose so I can laugh and I really really do hope you enjoy this episode I hope you a lot I hope you can look at we really do approach it. Thank you so much for