Not to say there aren't people who are great developers and make money doing it, but I would say it is not the best way to get started in real estate.   15 acres of raw land sounds like a deal for someone who has made plenty of money doing a variety of deals and now wants to go to the casino to take some of those winnings and double down.Only you know your plan.....I think you start with what the city wants to be there. 

I did enjoy going to all the casinos with all the great poker action.I also enjoy buying 35k properties that I can rent for $800. 

Here in Ohio 50 million dollar license fee to start a casino.

A former Structural enginee:  designed airports, casinos, 1M+ sf industrial buildings.

The main difference between you and I might be that I'm using a property manager to take care of bed bugs and toilets, which goes against your final point about having better luck at a casino.

To me it seems property values keep climbing but rent inflation isn't nearly as enthusiastic.

I am new to this and enthusiastic about my future with investing in real estate.

You mentioned this property is near new casino construction.

Our objective is to network as soon as we touch down with the goal to connect, befriend and possibly work with fellow Real Estate Enthusiast.

I'm not a lender or anything like that just a REI enthusiast.