You need to select the object in max to see the actual polygons. Although you did meshsmooth, it doesnt mean a high poly count, just higher than the original mesh. Second, as others point out, 3ds max can visually smooth objects in the viewport, which is different than geometry smoothing. If the polycount is actually higher and not being transferred, although i dont know why this would happen, you could try converting the objecting to a new editable poly and try exporting again.