SoCal

Maybe you are too sophiticated and/or jaded for Vegas. If your wife doesn't want to go, I don't know that I would foresee a wonderful vacation for you two (or are you considering going alone?). There are alternatives you could try as a compromise, at least for a first trip to a Nevada gambling city, such as Stateline, along Lake Tahoe (cooler temps, much better scenery, far fewer casinos). My parents liked Laughlin, along the Colorado River. Much quieter than Vegas (popular place for retirees). If you want real dive bars, you could consider some of the historic Nevada towns that have at least a few small casinos, such as Ely (and you could ride historic trains, and visit Great Basin National Park).

You only like to gamble if you think you are going to win or if you really are going to win? The odds are in the favor of the house. Always. If you knew you'd want it wouldn't be gambling. And the casinos would go broke.

If you're going to Vegas because your friends go, then that seems a pretty petty reason. I wouldn't based a Vegas experience on any movie I've ever seen. You have to look into the details of where you'd go, what you'd do. Will you go to various hotels and casinos, or, realistically, stay at one, and maybe see a show? By all means, endeavor to go during low season (though not mid-summer). If you're going to see "what it's all about," then the Strip may be for you, since that's probably the quintessential Vegas experience (if you just want a laid back resort experience so you can relax, I think there are better places than Vegas).

We've been to the Strip enough that we greatly enjoyed staying downtown, by the Fremont Street Exprience (at the Golden Nugget) last time. It is definitely Las Vegas (including a waterslide through a shark-filled aquarium nto the pool), but if this is your first, and maybe only, Vegas experience, it might be too far away from the glitz and "glamour" of the Strip (look at hotel Web sites, and reviews on Tripadvisor.com, etc.). You can get deals at some of the older Strip hotels, such as the Sahara and Riviera. As noted, prices are lower mid-week. Also less traffic on the Strip.

I hope you have time to get out of Vegas to see the surrounding area. For some, Hoover Dam is a must, though I personally prefer gorgeous Valley of Fire State Park or even-- a bit further away-- Death Valley.