The benefit, which will take place from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Los Gatos Opera House on Oct. 1, will feature casino games such as blackjack, craps, roulette and pai gow poker, along with music, dinner and live and silent auctions.

Some of the items being auctioned off are generating quite a buzz. In addition to items like jewelry, wine, hockey tickets, vacations and spa and hotel packages, some big-ticket prizes will be taken home by lucky winners.

Someone will snag a luxury box at SBC Park for five people, right above third base for a San Francisco Giants game. State Assembly candidate Steve Poizner donated a cell phone with a high-tech GPS chip inside, designed by his former company, and two phone calls from him for the winner—one on election night and a "progress report call" upon his 100th day in office should he win. A signed jersey by Olympic gold medalist soccer player Brandi Chastain is up for grabs, as are a golf shirt signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; a signed copy of her book What's Happened to Grandpa? by Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver; and both a California and U.S. flag flown above the state capitol.

However, organizers of this event do not want to see the reason behind the festivities fall out of the spotlight—helping the Silicon Valley Children's Hospital Foundation.

The foundation, which is now headquartered in Saratoga, was started by a group of concerned physicians, business leaders and parents who shared a common vision of making quality health care available to all children of Silicon Valley. Santa Clara­based semiconductor company Applied Materials Inc. provided critical seed funding to the group and was a backer for many years. A needs assessment and business plan were completed, and the group then united local physicians, parents, community leaders and businesses to work with hospitals in the area to establish a new center for pediatric care in San Jose.

Data collected by the foundation showed that only 20 percent of Santa Clara County children needing inpatient treatment receive care in a children's hospital, whereas more than 60 percent of children in Alameda County and 70 percent in Fresno County are treated in children's hospitals. Foundation representatives now say that, after completion of a successful feasibility study, the Silicon Valley Children's Hospital Foundation is in the planning and execution phases.

Tickets to the benefit are $75 each, which includes food and gambling chips, and can be purchased at the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, located at the corner of Highway 9 and N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

For more information, to donate items and services or to volunteer for this event, call the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce at 408.354.9300. Online, visit www.losgatosweb.com or www.svch.org.