Joliet casino’s new manager brings wealth of experience

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Wayne Smith is the vice president and general manager at Hollywood Casino as seen Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, at 777 Hollywood Blvd. in Joliet. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 25, 2012 8:06AM

JOLIET — Hollywood Casino Joliet’s new general manager has experience that should fit well here.

Wayne Smith comes from a casino in a major metropolitan market — New York. The casino was a horse racetrack with slots, which gives him some understanding of racinos if Illinois should legalize them. And, his stepson, Riley, is looking to play high school football.

Smith said he’s already familiarized himself with some of the successful high school football programs as he and his family look for a home in the area.

“We’re still looking and figuring out where we want to live,” he said.

Schools matter, he said. And, yes, so does football.

Outside of finding a place to live, Smith also will be looking for ways to take advantage of the barely year-old pavilion at Hollywood Joliet to drive more business to town. Since the Empress Casino was rebranded to Hollywood with a new pavilion in December 2010, revenue growth has been spotty. One problem has been competition from the new Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, which has become by far the state’s biggest money-maker since opening in the summer.

“There is a lot of opportunity for us here,” Smith said. “It would look like the region is starting to come back slowly — economically speaking. We would like to be in the forefront of bringing great entertainment to the immediate area and the Chicago area.”

Smith comes to Joliet from Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway.

“We were 15 miles from Times Square,” he said.

The casino floor there, he said, is as big as “a couple of football field.” The casino had 5,300 slot machines, which compares with the 1,200 slots, the maximum allowed by Illinois law, at Hollywood Joliet.

Empire City Casino was the closest casino to New York but, Smith said, “It was not a build it and they will come. You still have to build a brand awareness because there are so many alternatives out there.”

Like the Chicago market, he added.

Smith, 45, is a Rhode Island native. His wife, Audrey, is from Connecticut. They also have a 2-year-old son, Dylan.

Smith replaces Jon Johnson, who was looking for an opportunity to relocate to Las Vegas. Johnson became chief financial officer at M Resort in Henderson, Nev., a casino owned by Hollywood parent company Penn National Gaming.

Both Smith and his wife looked forward to moving back to the Midwest, having enjoyed time they previously spent in St. Louis.

Smith said he has found some of that Midwest hospitality since taking on his new job at Hollywood Joliet.

“I’ve been very impressed with not only the property but also the employees here,” he said. “It’s everything I expected with what I said about the Midwest — the friendliness. But it’s more than I expected.”