By Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport

 

SCENE & HEARD: Regular racing fans at Hastings can be forgiven for thinking there are two or possibly three guys wearing the name Ran Gosal on the identification badges pinned to their lapels.

That’s because Ran Gosal – Manager, Security – is here, there and everywhere on any given race day.

“I guess I do move around a lot,” the good-natured Gosal says. “I walk a lot of miles on race days.”

Always decked out in a suit, shirt and tie, he patrols every level of the track facility from the tarmac to the grandstands to Silks Restaurant to the rooftop skybox.

“I like people; I respect them and I don’t get rattled when issues flare up,” he says. “I learned early in the business that you don’t pre-judge anyone and always be willing to listen.”

Gosal, 44, learned his trade when he worked in security at an adolescent detention centre 25 years ago. His stops from there included the Pan Pacific Hotel and St. Paul’s Hospital prior to becoming a security officer at River Rock Casino when it opened in 2004.

“I’ve been with Great Canadian ever since,” the Vancouver-born father of a 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter says. “I went from River Rock to the original Vancouver casino on West Broadway, then to Boulevard Casino in Coquitlam (now Hard Rock) before moving over to Hastings with the opening of the casino in 2008.”

He was named senior supervisor upon his arrival at Hastings and six months later was elevated to the position he now holds – Manager, Security – overseeing a staff of 30.

“Like I was taught early in my career, I stress that we are never to get rattled and when there is a conflict or an issue, our job is to find a solution,” Ran says. “I think the patrons at both the race track and casino respect me because they know I care about them. It seems to work both ways.”