some advice on computer simulation

Hi Folks,

i have been out of Programming for a while and are about to write computer
simulation of a card game.(blackjack)
There will be extensive statistical analysis.
The nature of the game is that there will be extensive use of objects as
well.

At the moment i think i will use:
C++ with Kdevelop IDE on KDE  on SUse linux 9.1 without any updates to KDE
3.3 or kdevelop of a later version.

Not java because the amount of computation is extensive and the only real
user of the program is myself. maybe a few others.
if i need to port to another device then i can recompile for that target
such as a PDA etc. - worry about that then ithink

There will not be much GUI, probably text ouput or info that will be
transferred to a spreadsheet such as excel/openoffice Xcalc.
i think i do not really need QT environment.
The MAIN stuff i need is the numerical analysis, but some extra features i
may want later on will have a GUI and will need to be ported to a linux
mobile phone.

My previous experience was:
assembly language on 8088, DOS pascal with a borland IDE, ADA on embedded
68010's. unix networking environment.  minor minor amount of C and  a linux
fan. mostly 10 years ago.

I have the elctronic books: Thinking in C++ 2nd edition
Volume 1&2 from  www.BruceEckel.com. and have downloaded other C++ blackjack
simulations to re-familliarise with the syntax of C++. I have started
already defining the objects written on Paper.

I am wondering about any benifits of automatic coding tools, i  only want to
use linux environment. Will there be most stuff i need in kdevelop or is
there a gnome setup better? I don't want to be working like in the
Flintstones but i think C++ is still the best solution. correct?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated before i dive in head first.

Phil