It's a high-stakes game of Flushing Hold 'em.

An obscure city panel threw a wrench into plans for a new casino at Citi Field when it on Tuesday tabled approval of the facility's design after angry residents, including members of the Democratic Socialists of America, flooded a meeting with objections.

The nine-member Public Design Commission was supposed to only review how the new casino and its grounds were supposed to look and accommodate the public — but critics at the meeting attacked the project by Mets owner Steve Cohen over objections to gambling and how it would affect the area.

And even though those kinds of complaints were not supposed to be entertained by the board because the casino already has full state approval, the commission unanimously voted to table action on approving the designs, thus potentially delaying the project.

The $8 billion Cohen-Hard Rock Metropolitan Park casino is expected to open in 2030. It's not clear how long the tabling of the design approval will delay the project, though reps for the casino tried to downplay the effect.

The New York State Gaming Commission last December awarded the Cohen-Hard Rock Metropolitan Park bid a license to operate a casino in Flushing Meadows/Willets Point.

The project also includes a hotel and music venue alongside the gaming center, and when completed, it will provide easier pedestrian access to the Flushing Bay waterfront.

The state legislature also passed a law repurposing the lots around the Mets ballpark — designated parkland for the World's Fair — for commercial use. Six local Queens community boards overwhelmingly voted to back the casino project.

But a group of community activists — including members of the Democratic Socialists of America — oppose the project and testified Tuesday at the design panel's meeting.

Alexis Kaloyanides, a member of Community Education Council 30 and an NYC-DSA member, said, “As a parent and public school advocate committed to the future generation of Queens kids, it is my responsibility to consider the societal harms that a casino will bring into our communities.”

The Guardians of Flushing Bay raised concerns about how the project will address flooding.

Several PDC members told opponents that their role is limited to approving elements of design for the project, not on whether the project should proceed. But they thanked them for raising legitimate concerns about the casino complex.

"We've been handed a bulk of work that says this casino has been given permission by the State and City of New York to operate in this property. Our purview is …. given where we are on the issue of gambling, how can we ensure the public right of access, use, utility, safety, and comfort within this structure," said PDC member Merryl Tisch.

"I also want to say that in my experience working at this table, the collaboration that has taken place on design issues within this structure has been a model of everyone hearing each other and moving forward. I have confidence that this too will be the case [with the casino's design]."

But one commission member questioned the merit of the entire project, complaining about placing a casino next to Flushing Meadows Park.