Near the fried-food area of the buffet, we sidled up to a young-looking attendee. He wasn’t eating, just watching the party.  We asked him his thoughts; he said it was one of the best fundraisers that he’d ever been to. “And I’m from L.A!” (Land of extravagent fundraisers, apparently.)

“It’s a nice opportunity at a reasonable price,” he said, looking at the crowd. He seemed distracted by a cluster of twenty-something women in humongous heels and prom-ish dresses nearby. “Man, I shoulda worn my kippa tonight. That would have done so much damage.”

We next ran into an excited group of young women near one of the casino tables. We asked if they were enjoying the party. They immediately quieted. One woman leaned forward from the group to answer us.

“Let’s just say I can’t remember the last time I saw so much delicious kosher meat in one place," she stage-whispered. "And I’m not talking about the buffet!”

They burst out laughing.

According to event co-chair Joshua Dardashtian, a real-estate developer who sits on the executive board of the FIDF, there was actually a lot of “meat” in the Pavilion—attendance was high and the organization plans to break last year's donation record. 

“The event is sold out,” Mr. Dardashtian said. “We didn’t expect that this year with you know, the economy…” He made a down-sloping hand gesture. “But new people got involved, the raffles are better. We’re fortunate to have great donors.”

And is Mr. Dardashtian excited about Busta Rhymes?

“Of course! He’s my man!”

Mr. Rhymes appeared on stage in head-to-toe Louis Vuitton winter-wear. He tried to get the group to be more participatory for most of his performance, stopping a song at one point:

“You’re beautiful!” he said to the crowd. “Women, you’ve got your hairs done, you’re nails done--we might sweat out your pretty hair-dos tonight!” Then he asked, almost quietly: “All of you in the back, could you please put your hands up?”

Security was very tight on Saturday night at the Metropolitan Pavilion, where the annual Friends of the Israel Defense Forces gala was being held. Inside, some 1,600 guests in black-tie attire played casino games, ate sushi, bid on auction items and listened to the musical styling of Matisyahu—the 28-year-old American reggae artist, who works his devout Jewish faith into much of his work.

Jeremy Shure, an attorney at Akerman Senterfitt, co-chaired the event with Jane Oster. “It’s big night for us because it’s a big, actual rock concert that we’re putting on here,” Mr. Shure told us, pointing to a stage that had been set up at one end of the massive room. “We wanted someone who we thought carried the message of the organization. [Matisyahu] was excited to be apart of it and we were excited to have him.”

Now in its fifth year, the event continues to draw major support from donors. At this year’s benefit alone, Mr. Shure said F.I.D.F. expected to pull in over $500,000. “The more people learn about our organization, the more they seem to open their wallets, open their hearts,” he said. Though he did not want to address any specific political issues, Mr. Shure would say that the organization’s cause is as important now as ever. “Everyday, Israel is in a precarious situation. It’s very easy to forget; when we go to work on Monday morning or when we’re sleeping, there’s someone standing guard at a post.”

Other guests at the event included: Jason Binn, Bruce Wilpon, Shena Falic, Eugene Remm, Gabriel Erem, Ari Ackerman and Jason and Jeff Hirsch.