NEVADA: They came from near and far. Las Vegas Valley developers, medical marijuana industry veterans from Colorado and area doctors were among them.

The odds were against them. Seventy-nine applicants — down from 81 — aiming for part of the region’s next industry: medical marijuana. And Clark County had just 18 slots for medical marijuana dispensaries.

There were familiar names among the winners that county commissioners picked Friday at the end of a three-day hearing. Longtime developer and gaming executive Randy Black, who retired last year as chief operating officer at Mesquite Gaming, for example, hopes to open a dispensary in Laughlin. He was the only applicant there.