Just bought tickets to Vegas for the wife and I in December. Never been. Anything I need to make a priority to visit?

Get off the strip and go check out old Vegas at least one night. No where near as high end, and you can have all the fun you want...but then again, I wasn't there with my wife...

Everything looks close but is five miles away.

Take a tour to the Hoover Dam and buy some dam bait. But don't leave the dam tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhs_-XOP2ZA

I'll have the watch the video later, but I do want to see the Hoover Dam.

Gambling isn't high on the priority list, but some good shows and touring are.

Rent a car and leave the strip. Go fishing/boating on lake Mead for big stripers and giant catfish.
Visit valley of fire state park. Rent buggies or sand rails and rip it up in the sand dunes.
Big Daddies BBQ is amazing and off the strip and priced well.
Pizza rock if you are on Freemont street, its a block off the covered area.
Battistas hole in the wall behind the Flamingo for good italian all the table wine you can eat and a fun atmosphere ( a good place to have an early dinner/get a nice buzz before wandering the strip).
Hit a mini mart or grocery store and pick up a small cooler and grab some beers and a case of water, or pay strip prices.
Bus tours around the strip are a fun way to see a lot without walking or wasting a lot of time. You're feet will get tired so dress accordingly and tell the wife to skip the heels and dress unless you're taking a cab out.
Use Uber and the monorail to get around rather than cabs, it's much cheaper.
Everything/person has their hand out in that town, it gets old.
Relax by the pool and don't act like you have to see everything, it's really all about the same and it's not going anywhere, so you don't have to try to see the whole thing in one trip.
Of all the casinos/strip to see, the Venetian is probably the most interesting.
Everything is pricey,big, designed to keep you there, busy and so-so. If you have a car eat at off the strip, the gambling can be more fun off the strip and you'll get more drinks too.
I end up there almost every year for work and am staying further from the strip and downtown each time.... There is a ton to do off the strip and outdoors if you can escape the casinos.
If you drive across the new bridge into arizona above the Hoover Dam, take the first exit go under the road and follow the goat path for a few miles down to the the edge of lake Mead. Any car can make it just go slow. It looks really remote, but it has plenty of traffic. The views are great and you can swim there.

Awesome advise 45th! We'll arrive at 8am local time on a Wednesday and leave the following Wednesday. We won't be in much of a hurry and will enjoy the relaxation aspect as well.

I hadn't thought of hitting the dunes, but weather permitting that's a must. I've been wanting to make a road trip with my Maverick to the dunes in Cali.

Don't be a afraid to ignore people and even be a little rude, especially if you're from a small town and used to being respectful and respected, and not used to being bothered by street people.
You'll be preyed upon by people in and out of casinos vying for your attention, just keep moving. Outside, people are begging, or selling drugs and hookers. Inside, especially at entrances and gathering spots, they are selling timeshares. Don't waste your time and forget the free show tickets for sitting in on their sales pitch, not worth giving up any of your precious vacation time to be hustled into buying some piece of shit percentage of a vacation property (if you want a timeshare, there are plenty of people that will give you one just to get out from under it).
Just ignore everybody, you don't know them, or owe them 2 seconds.
Be smart and you won't have any troubles. I've seen some ugly stuff late at night in downtown when really drunk visitors get hustled and pickpocketed as they are in a crowd watching a street performer. They hand a wallet off to a runner, cops search the suspect and they meet up later.
Lastly, nearly every time I am there my credit card info gets jacked, so make sure you have a couple of back-ups and only use one until it's compromised. Hopefully, the chips in the cards are an improvement.

Some pretty cool shows to see and Hoover Dam is cool we took a helicopter ride by the dam and sat down in the Grand Canyon for lunch with a company called Pappion helicopter tours(spelling?) a couple years ago.Plenty of things to do but for us hardest thing was finding decent meals for a reasonable price,be prepared to leave the strip a couple blocks an you will be fine.Oh yeah COMFORTABLE SHOES there is a lot of walking.Hope yall have a good time.

Thanks again Parallel, and you too Speed. We've started putting together a list of ideas. Should be a great trip.