[1] Gural with his partner, Barry Gosin, propelled the firm's growth in the 1970s and 1980s, via an aggressive acquisition strategy, including commercial and residential buildings and even racetracks.

[9] Gural is committed to cleaning up the harness racing industry: all horses that run on his tracks are subject to blood and urine samples to test for illicit drugs and the training centers or farms can be inspected at any time by his investigator.

Governor Andrew Cuomo immediately requested that the state gaming commission add a casino upstate; As of 2015, Gural was the only applicant for that license.

[12] After numerous polls showed that Question 1 had no chance to pass Gural, along with Paul Fireman, pulled their financial support for the measure.

Bill Cortese, the leader of Trenton’s Bad Bet, a group opposed to the question, said, “Trenton’s Bad Bet will not be distracted by billionaire developers throwing temper tantrums because they don’t get what they want.”[13] Gural blamed the failure of Question 1 on the general political climate and said that he might sponsor a similar ballot measure in 2018.

[citation needed] Gural is a former chairman of the board of the Times Square Business Improvement District, the Alliance of Resident Theatres New York, and the Eldridge Street Synagogue.

; New York City Outward Bound, the Jewish Community Center of the Upper West Side, and the Settlement Housing Fund.