Cubs' Ryan Dempster puts teammates to work at casino-themed benefit, Charlie Sheen coming to Chicago, Tom Morello vs. Rahm Emanuel

I'm not exactly sure. But whatever he did, it's worked for three straight years now.

The third annual Dempster Foundation Casino Night at Palmer House Hilton hotel again featured appearances from the entire Cubs roster -- including Kerry Wood, Starlin Castro, Alfonso Soriano and Matt Garza -- and Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein.

(To put that in perspective, most athletes are able to get only two to four teammates to come to their charity events.)

The Cubs players shuffled and dealt cards for the guests at their tables with a professional dealer at each of their sides. Some had the dealer routine down while others looked like they hadn't held a deck of cards in a while (I thought I was the worst at shuffling a deck of cards until I saw Darwin Barney do it). But what matters most, obviously, is that it was all for a good cause, the Dempster Family Foundation, which focuses on raising awareness of 22q11.2 deletion.

In addition to their dealer duties, players posed for photos and signed autographs for the 600 or so guests. Wood was sporting his new crew cut, which he proudly told me he cut himself, and seemed to be the fan favorite, posing for endless photos throughout the night.

And yes, "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks was also there, as he usually is at Cubs-related parties. No, the Bears' Israel Idonije was not there, which is unusual since dude goes to everything.

Guests were treated to a performance from former "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox, who performed Janis Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee," and a magician, who performed his card trick for former Blackhawk and current Florida Panther Brian Campbell. The live auction included a baseball signed by Babe Ruth that went for $21,000. Here's hoping the winner does a better job of taking care of the ball than Smalls did in "The Sandlot."

Get it? Because Smalls' step-dad owned a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth until the neighbor's dog ... you know what? Nevermind.

Big ups: The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital named a playroom on its oncology floor after Kerry Wood and his wife Sarah thanks to their contribution to the Heroes for Life campaign. The Woods cut the ribbon on the the Kerry and Sarah Wood and Wood Family Foundation room Friday during a private reception.

Watch this: If you've been following this blog for a while, you know I'm a fan of R. Kelly's work. He's the only artist who can get me to bob my head, shake my head, laugh and then bob my head again all in one song. In his new video for "It's On," Kells doesn't disappoint. He sings exactly what you would expect R. Kelly to sing about: A female who has "more curves than a race track." Enjoy.