in december 1981, don nomura moved to los angeles with his new wife. there he worked a series of odd jobs that including non paying scout for milwaukee brewers, travel agent, janitor, waiter, driver, liquor store clerk, tour coordinator, translator and other odd jobs. for a time, nomura was forced to send his wife and infant daughter back to japan while he lived out of his car in los angeles because of his poor financial state. by 1985, he had saved enough money to rent an apartment and bring his family back to l.a. nomura then converted $1,000 to $41,000 while playing baccarat in las vegas. the money helped him to buy an apartment building in l.a. for $250,000 that he later sold for $400,000.